Kentucky football report card: Grading the Wildcats’ win against Tennessee
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky has a knack for playing close home games. Add a 29-26 win against Tennessee on Saturday to the list.
The Wildcats (6-2, 3-2 SEC) beat the Volunteers (3-5, 0-5) for only the second time since 1984. It was a wacky game at Kroger Field, but in the end, Kentucky sealed its second consecutive bowl bid and may have sealed the fate of Tennessee coach Butch Jones.
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“How many times were we on the wrong end of that for 33, 34 years or however many years,” Kentucky’s Mark Stoops said after the game. “There’s been many times when we have played some good football and came up on the wrong end. We have done that here. And so it was really nice to be on the other end to just hang in there.”
Here’s how we graded the performance.
Offense: B-minus
It’s hard to assign a single grade to the offense.
There were the bads: 4 fumbles and 82 yards passing. And there were the goods: Stephen Johnson’s gutsy performance and Benny Snell’s 180 rushing yards.
Subtract 2 of those fumbles and Kentucky’s offensive stats might look better. Kentucky moved the ball at will in the first half when it wasn’t fumbling. The offense scored just once after halftime, but the game-winning drive was perfection.
Kentucky started the drive from its 28-yard line with 4 minutes, 43 seconds left and down, 26-21. Johnson and Snell fueled the drive along with a crucial sideline catch by Tavin Richardson. Kentucky went 72 yards on 10 plays on a drive that lasted 4:10. Johnson launched himself into the end zone from 3-yards out for the winning score.
.@UKFootball's Tavin Richardson with the Toe Drag Swag. pic.twitter.com/ghSZBrUn3M
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) October 29, 2017
The fumbles would’ve been the story had Kentucky lost, but now they’ll hardly be remembered. Snell coughed up the ball on his first touch, but he averaged almost 7 yards per carry. The Cats showed consistency up front, and the rushing attack was a flashback from last year.
Johnson’s numbers through the air need to be better, but Kentucky’s offense was controlled by the ground game.
Defense: B-plus
This one is tricky. The Cats gave up a ton of yards (445), but at times it felt like the defense is what kept Kentucky in the game. Kentucky’s defense made its biggest contributions when the offense made its most glaring errors.
Tennessee scored just 9 points (3 field goals) off Kentucky’s 4 fumbles. The offense put the defense in bad spot after bad spot, and the defense was in its best bend-but-don’t-break form. The game could’ve gotten out of hand early had the Vols capitalized off turnovers.
Jordan Jones led Kentucky with 13 tackles, including 2 for loss. The Cats didn’t make it easy on Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano. He was sacked 8 times by eight Kentucky defenders.
All aspects of Kentucky’s defense need work. Tennessee’s offense came into the game with a month-long touchdown drought, so the Cats’ holes were glaring — especially against a rushing attack that was without John Kelly. Neither the pass nor run defense was up to par, but Kentucky seemed to come up with stops when it needed.
Special teams: B
It was a quiet day on special teams. Nothing great, nothing terrible. Tennessee boasted a dangerous return game, but the Cats weren’t burnt by it. Austin MacGinnis wasn’t called upon for any field goals and Matt Panton averaged 41.5 yards on 4 punts.
Lynn Bowden showed he can be shifty on kickoffs, but he didn’t break a big one.
Overall: B
The result outshined the performance. No, Kentucky didn’t play its best. And sure, more than a few fans won’t be sold on the 6-2 start after barely beating the Vols. But wins against Tennessee are hard to come by for Kentucky. The Cats snagged one on Saturday night.
Watch: Kentucky coach Mark Stoops after Tennessee game
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