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Tennessee football: Five takeaways from Vols 34-7 loss to Kentucky

By Caleb Calhoun

Kentucky defensive back Kelvin Joseph (1) intercepts a pass intended for Tennessee wide receiver Cedric Tillman (4) ** Tennessee running back Len'Neth Whitehead (4) during a SEC conference football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Kentucky Wildcats held at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, October 17, 2020.Kns Ut Football Kentucky Bp
Kentucky defensive back Kelvin Joseph (1) intercepts a pass intended for Tennessee wide receiver Cedric Tillman (4) ** Tennessee running back Len'Neth Whitehead (4) during a SEC conference football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Kentucky Wildcats held at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, October 17, 2020.Kns Ut Football Kentucky Bp /
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Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano (2) hands the ball off to Tennessee running back Eric Gray (3) during the second half of a game between Tennessee and Kentucky at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020.
Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano (2) hands the ball off to Tennessee running back Eric Gray (3) during the second half of a game between Tennessee and Kentucky at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020. /

3. Run game still provided a spark

Jim Chaney deserves a ton of blame for not sticking with the run game early. That was the one positive for Tennessee football, and if they had kept it on the ground all day, they may not have ever dug themselves a hole to begin with. It wasn’t meaningless running either when you look at what points in the game the yards on the ground came.

Eric Gray had 24 carries for 128 yards. Ty Chandler added 12 carries for 51 yards and a touchdown. Even Jabari Small came in and had two carries for 12 yards, although those yards may have indeed been irrelevant, as they came late with Kentucky already leading 34-7. Everything beforehand, though, is legitimate, and we can break down why.

In UT’s only touchdown drive, Gray and Chandler had all the yards. It was a 75-yard drive, and all but 71 of them were on the ground. Even before that, the Vols were moving the ball on the ground every time until somebody, usually Guarantano, made a crucial mistake.

The second half proved even more costly for UT when it didn’t keep the ball on the ground. Back to back drives were killed by either a major sack or a penalty on a passing play despite Rocky Top running the ball well. Chaney gets a lot of blame for not sticking with it, but the one thing you can take away is that the ground game was solid. It’s probably the only positive.

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