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Tennessee football: Vols top 10 greatest games in 2010s decade

By Caleb Calhoun

ATHENS, GA - OCTOBER 1: Jauan Jennings #15 of the Tennessee Volunteers rides the shoulders of Gavin Bryant #36 after making the game winning catch against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium on October 1, 2016 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
ATHENS, GA - OCTOBER 1: Jauan Jennings #15 of the Tennessee Volunteers rides the shoulders of Gavin Bryant #36 after making the game winning catch against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium on October 1, 2016 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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6. Nov. 10, 2018

No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats at Tennessee Volunteers

839. Final. 7. 833. 24

Beating the Kentucky Wildcats seems oddly common on this list, as Tennessee football always beats Kentucky. It shouldn’t be special. However, this decade, given how much the Vols struggled, they actually had quite a few wins over this program, which reached bowl eligibility in the 2010s just as many times as Rocky Top did.

Anyway, in 2018, the Vols were undergoing a major transition period as Jeremy Pruitt tried to change the culture. They then suffered a huge blow by losing their best offensive lineman in Trey Smith due to blood clots just as November hit, and heading into this game, they had a hideous win over the Charlotte 49ers.

Heading into this game, Kentucky was in the midst of its best season in decades under Mark Stoops. Ranked No. 12, this would be the game they dominate. In an early defensive struggle, Pruitt showed his clear defensive prowess by shutting down Kentucky’s one-dimensional offense. UT went up 3-0 in the first quarter, as Kentucky missed a field goal.

Late in the second quarter, though, the Vols took control. As they continued to dominate defensively, they got an 81-yard drive to go up 10-0 with two minutes left. But then they got the ball back, and Jarrett Guarantano then hit Marquez Callaway for a Hail Mary touchdown pass to put UK up 17-0.

Fully in control, they used their confidence to go up 24-0 early in the second quarter. Kentucky then scored to make it 24-7 and got the ball back, but every time they did, UT came through in another way. They got a block to force another missed field goal, and then after a Ty Chandler fumble, they forced Kentucky to fumble it right back.

So the Vols never threatened. Darrell Taylor was the star in this game with four sacks, and Marquill Osborne had two interceptions. Tennessee football would then lose its final two games to still finish 5-7, but wins like this showed what Pruitt was building.

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