Tennessee football Smokey points: Top five Vols in 17-13 Kentucky win

It was a team effort for Tennessee football to upset the Kentucky Wildcats. Here are the top five Volunteers performers from the game.

Talk about a bunch of great storylines surrounding individual players! Tennessee football relied on an unlikely collection of heroes to beat the Kentucky Wildcats on the road on Saturday and move back to 5-5 on the season.

The Vols’ win came on the backs of players who had really rough starts to the season and some players who didn’t even see any action in the first two games. It was an incredible collection of people to pull out this win.

A strong second half offensively and consistent fourth down stands on defense resulted in this win, and certain players specifically came through for Tennessee football during those instances. It was a great all-around performance with just a couple of exceptions.

As we get set to dish out our Smokey points, key big plays throughout the game defined who made the list. However, it was hard to narrow the list of playmakers down to just five guys, as the number of big plays made for lots of standout talent.

So we had to break this down by looking at the big plays guys made and factoring in who played consistently well over a period of time. Even then, though, it was a bit hard to narrow down who stood out in this matchup.

Simply put, the Vols had a lot of guys step up in this game. It was a comeback story for some and expected for others. But all of them are a reason that Jeremy Pruitt’s team now appears likely to make a bowl game after a horrendous start to the season.

Who are the players that stepped up in this game? What is the story behind how well they played? Let’s break that down here. These are the top five Vols performers who earned our Smokey points in Tennessee football’s 17-13 win over Kentucky.