The Tennessee football team was too much for the Wildcats to handle on Saturday night. Vols won the game 24-7. Here is how the contest broke down by the numbers.
What a Saturday night it was for Tennessee football fans. The Kentucky Wildcats came into Neyland Stadium ranked No.11 in the nation and walked out with a spanking. From the opening kickoff, Kentucky didn’t have a chance.
With the win, Tennessee is just one win shy from six wins and a bowl appearance. With two winnable games left against Missouri and Vanderbilt, could the Vols finish 7-5? There is a good possibility. However, here is how the Vols and Cats played out by the numbers.
215- rushing yards for the Vols. This was the first game over 200 yards on the ground since UTEP gave up 345 earlier this season.
144- passing attempts for quarterback Jarrett Guarantano without throwing an interception. He broke a school record that was previously held by Tennessee great, Casey Clausen.
140- completions for Jarrett Guarantano. The sophomore quarterback only had 139 attempts all of last season. Anyone who thinks he isn’t improving doesn’t know football. Is he perfect? No, but he’s developing into a solid SEC quarterback.
89- rushing yards for Vols’ running back Ty Chandler. The sophomore running back has been fighting injuries all season but looked mostly healthy against the Cats. Chandler rushed for eight more yards than All-SEC running back, Benny Snell.
59- rushing yards for wide receiver Jordan Murphy. Murphy took an end around and had one man to beat for a touchdown. He didn’t end up scoring, but the run did set up for a Tennessee touchdown.
17- straight wins the Vols have over the Kentucky Wildcats in Knoxville. The last time the Cats beat Tennessee on the road was back in 1984.
4- sacks for Darrell Taylor. In the history of the Tennessee football program, only two other players have recorded a four sack game. Reggie White did it in 1983 against The Citadel, and Corey Miller did it in 2013 against the Kentucky Wildcats.
2- interceptions for defensive back Marquill Osborne. Surprisingly, those were the first two interceptions of Osborne’s career.
1- pass right before halftime that ended up in a Tennessee touchdown. With seconds left in the first half, Jarrett Guarantano threw a bomb into the end zone where wide receiver Marquez Callaway was there to score his first touchdown of the year. That touchdown put the Vols up 17-0 at halftime.
(-)6- rushing yards for Kentucky quarterback Terry Wilson. Tennessee was the first team this season to hold Wilson to negative rushing yards.
A lot happened during the game. Both Jarrett Guarantano and Darrell Taylor broke or tied records. And, first-year head coach Jeremy Pruitt got his second win over a ranked opponent. Tennessee will host the Missouri Tigers on Saturday at 3:30 pm.