Knoxville, Tennessee- The Tennessee Volunteers (7-2, 5-2) played tough defense against an improved Kentucky team under first-year HC Will Stein throughout. The Vols took the ball away from the Wildcats (7-2, 4-2) three times. In the final period, they scored three touchdowns for a solid 34-6 victory. Tennessee led at halftime 10-6 and at the end of the third, 13-6. However, they exploded with three scoring drives in the fourth to challenge pollsters who bumped Alabama (7-2, 5-2) to No. 4 last week in the CFP seeding bracket emphasizing an earlier, 45-17, win over these same Wildcats (7-2, 5-2). Even more questionable, Tennessee defeated Alabama, 26-10, at home on October 17!
In front of 101,915, fired-up fans at Neyland Stadium, mixed in black as well as traditional orange, Tennessee played inspired football. The defense stiffened in the red zone, allowing only two field goals in the first half. They held the Wildcats to 3.7 yards per carry on 37 rushes. Tennessee sacked Wildcat QB Kenny Minchey (26 for 34, 224 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT) four times and made eight tackles for losses. Vol LB Arion Carter led the way on defense with 13 tackles, two sacks and four TFLs.
Defenses spar in first, then bang!
Both defenses controlled the first five possessions. Four punts and a Tennessee interception by DeJuan Lane in the end zone set the pace. Defensive domination? As the first period neared its end in a scoreless tie, the Vols set up after a UK punt on its 34. Then, the bang! RB Daune Morris took the handoff and found a seam to his left side. He raced 66 yards to break the void, 7-0. Kentucky’s ensuing drive to start the second quarter got halted at the UT 25. From there, Adam Zouagui split the uprights from 43 yards to narrow the Vol lead, 7-3.
Tennessee’s next possession ventured to the Kentucky 30. Cooper Ranvier made good from 38 yards out. Following a UK fumble and a UT punt, the Wildcats took possession back on their 11. They got as far as the Tennessee ten with a first down. However, a one-yard loss and two incompletions by Minchey under pressure forced UK to go for another FG. Zouagui converted from 25 this time. Into the half, the Volunteers led the Wildcats, 10-6.
More of the same in the third, then a Tennessee thud!
To start the third, Tennessee drove deep to the Kentucky 20. On the next two plays, Wildcat LB Cedric Works broke up a pass, and QB George McIntyre (9 for 14, 125 yards) threw incomplete into the end zone. Tennessee settled for Ranvier’s second score from 39 yards to extend its lead, 13-6. The teams exchanged punts. Then with 30 seconds left in the period, thud – a tackle of Minchey by DB Qua Moss. Fumble! A recovery by DT Mariyon Dye returned 11 yards to the Kentucky 36. Tennessee entered the final period from there.
The beginning of a great ending for a Tennessee win
With the ball on Kentucky’s 24, QB Faizon Brandon flipped the ball on a short pass forward to WR Mike Mathews in the backfield. He swept around the right end to paydirt for a 20-6 Volunteer lead. UK had 13:34 left to desperately get back into this game. On fourth and one on the 50, Carter sacked Minchey for an 11-yard loss to get the ball back on downs. A 34-yard pass to WR Braylon Staley took UT to the five. Next, a handoff to RB Desean Bishop (25 carries, 104 yards, 2 TDs) put Tennessee up, 27-6.
Again, UK turned its next series after eight plays over on downs. Under pressure by FS TJ Metcalf, Minchey threw the ball way out of bonds for intentional grounding. The Vols started underway from their 22. Using up clock, they grounded out the drive with handoffs to Bishop (5 rushes, 85 yards, 1 TD) and Morris. With 1:06 left on the clock, Bishop took it over again from the five for the finale, 34-6.
Vols’ fans celebrate good times!
In the process of dominating the Wildcats, Bishop reached the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the second year in a row. Tennessee Vol fans had much to celebrate and more to look forward to. We had a great day overall tailgating on a beautiful fall weekend with friends and UT fans Friday night and Saturday morning. Maybe we’ll meetup again with them at the Peach or Orange Bowl in January!
Week 11: SEC challenges ahead for UT and UK; double-header for us
Kentucky (7-2, 5-2) now ranked No. 13, returns to Lexington. They try to get back on a winning track with the Florida Gators (3-4, 5-4) coming to town. Tennessee (7-2, 4-2), now No. 9, heads to College Station, Texas to meet the Aggies of A&M, (4-5, 1-5). They come off a 17-9 loss at South Carolina.
We take our first trip ever to the Pacific Northwest to visit two stadiums and a state where we’ve never attended a game in our 47-year history. So, though we don’t see some top teams in FBS action, we should see some very competitive games. The first is a Big Sky, FCS contest with some potential for an FCS playoff bid. At 1 pm Pacific time, the UC Davis Aggies (6-4, 4-3) visit the Idaho Vandals (5-5, 4-2) inside the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho. The Vandals defeated FCS, No. 1 Montana State in the Dome earlier this season, 35-34. Should be fun!
How convenient for us!
We follow up with a 7 pm PT kickoff about ten miles away. In Pullman, Washington, we attend our first game ever in the Evergreen State. There, we see two PAC-12 members battle at the bottom of the barrel. Could still be interesting. Colorado State (3-5, 1-4) visits Washington State (1-8, 0-5). Both programs compete this season under first-year head coaches. CSU plays under Jim Mora, former head coach who turned around UConn the past few years. WAZU HC Kirby Moore comes from Missouri where he was OC to Eliah Drinkwitz. Kirby is also Kellen Moore’s brother. We just saw him when Boise State unveiled a statue of him at the Texas State game two weeks ago. Kirby played at Boise with Kellen as WR.
San Diego State benchmark
Despite their conference records, a good, competitive game possibly looms here. On October 24, CSU won its only PAC-12 game in a 56-49 shoot-out at home against San Diego State. A week later on October 31 at San Diego, WAZU fell to the Aztecs, 26-20. WAZU had a bye this past weekend while CSU got blistered by Boise, 64-38. So maybe these two squads will settle in at Martin Stadium in Pullman for our first visit and fight in a close one to avoid last place in the new PAC-12.
We just keep churning out more great games!
If you haven’t already, please click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Among 753 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person. In 2026, in case you aren’t aware, North Dakota State and Sacramento State join the FBS this season. “Fifty Years” tells our story of how we got to attend our first 652 games!
Read the reviews on the book page and order your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023. Hopefully, you’ll understand how much we love this sport and what we propose for it to survive successfully. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales.
Maybe recapture some fantastic memories of your own
Please buy your copy today and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe some will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did. And to us this isn’t a job. It’s our lifelong adventure!
Written and edited by Steve Koreivo, member of Football Writers Association of America and Author of Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the fun and the Ugly.
