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Tennessee football: Five takeaways from Vols’ 45-42 win at Kentucky

By Caleb Calhoun

A view during an SEC football game between Tennessee and Kentucky at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky. on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021.Kns Tennessee Kentucky Football
A view during an SEC football game between Tennessee and Kentucky at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky. on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021.Kns Tennessee Kentucky Football /
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Tennessee defensive lineman/linebacker Tyler Baron (9) nearly blocks a touchdown pass thrown by Kentucky quarterback Will Levis (7) during an SEC football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Kentucky Wildcats at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky. on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021.Tennvskentucky1106 0662
Tennessee defensive lineman/linebacker Tyler Baron (9) nearly blocks a touchdown pass thrown by Kentucky quarterback Will Levis (7) during an SEC football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Kentucky Wildcats at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky. on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021.Tennvskentucky1106 0662 /

Fresh off a bye, Tennessee football beat the Kentucky Wildcats 45-42 and gave itself a realistic chance to guarantee a winning record with the South Alabama Jaguars and Vanderbilt Commodores to close out Josh Heupel’s first season. The Vols needed a late fourth down stop at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky., in a game that saw five lead chances, and they got it.

The two teams traded the first two touchdowns of the game. Down 14-7, UK scored two touchdowns to make it 21-14 before the Vols got a touchdown and a field goal to end the first half up 24-21. In the second half, UK went up 28-24 on their first drive, but the Vols responded with a touchdown to take the lead for good and then a pick-six to take control.

Kentucky and UT each had two more touchdowns. The Vols had a late fourth down stop to win. They moved to 5-4 and 3-3 in the SEC and will host the Georgia Bulldogs next week. Mark Stoops’ team has now lost three straight, falling to 6-3 and 4-3 in the SEC. They will next visit the Vanderbilt Commodores. Here are five things we learned from Tennessee football’s win.

5. Who cares about time of possession?

We all knew about the focus on tempo for Josh Heupel’s offense, but this was insane. The Vols led at the end of the first quarter 14-7 despite holding the ball for 37 seconds. For the game, Kentucky ran 99 plays to the Vols running just 47 plays, but somehow, the Vols were the ones who managed to get the win.

That’s not the only stat that favored UK. Despite having the same number of turnovers and missed field goals, they had 612 total yards to UT’s 461, and they also had the ball for over 46 minutes. Somehow, though, they lost.

This is the second straight week Kentucky has had the ball for over 40 minutes and lost, but they have faced two offensive minded coaches in Heupel and Mike Leach. The philosophy of those two coaches is turning the sport on its head, and Heupel has Tennessee football ahead of the curve in many ways. He showed it with this one.

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