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Tennessee football: 10 best 2018 single game performances by returning Vols

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 10: Darrell Taylor #19 of the Tennessee Volunteers gets a strip sack from Terry Wilson #3 of the Kentucky Wildcats during the second half of the game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 24-7. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 10: Darrell Taylor #19 of the Tennessee Volunteers gets a strip sack from Terry Wilson #3 of the Kentucky Wildcats during the second half of the game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 24-7. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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1. Darrell Taylor vs. Kentucky

Stat line: 7 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery

Result: Tennessee wins 24-7

It was tough to determine whether or not the Georgia Bulldogs or the Kentucky Wildcats was Darrell Taylor’s best game. We went with Kentucky because, despite forcing two less fumbles, he made more plays overall.

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Taylor still did force and recover one fumble for Tennessee football, and it did come at an important time. Kentucky had cut the game to 24-7, and despite having a field goal blocked on the previous drive, they forced a Ty Chandler fumble.

As a result, they had the ball back inside UT territory with over 10 minutes to go. That’s plenty of time for a comeback. Bu Taylor came through right there with a key strip-sack and fumble recovery, which put the game out of reach.

The strip-sack fumble recovery was one of Taylor’s incredible four sacks on the day, which was part of his seven tackles. He also, to be fair, could’ve been on the list for his three sacks against the Vanderbilt Commodores, but these obviously meant more.

His first sack came when UK had the ball near midfield down only 3-0  in the second quarter. That killed one drive, and the Vols scored a touchdown on the very next drive to go up 10-0. The next sack was on the very next drive, which allowed the Vols to get the ball back in good field position one more time in the first half. They took advantage with a touchdown as time expired.

Then came the strip-sack. Finally, Taylor got a sack on the next drive, after the Vols had another offensive fumble, to make sure there would be no comeback. Simply put, he had four key sacks in an amazing game.

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Now that he’s more acclimated to the system, Taylor’s flashes in games like Kentucky provide a lot of excitement for Tennessee football fans. They expect lots more of that this year from him, and if he gets more consistent, his potential is through the roof.

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