Tennessee’s Jarrett Guarantano completed 12 of 20 passes for 197 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in Saturday’s home win against Kentucky.KNOXVILLE – After completing a deep throw that set up Tennessee’s first touchdown Saturday against Kentucky, quarterback Jarrett Guarantano turned to Wildcats linebacker Josh Allen and barked, “There’s no hit that’s going to take me out!”
That was the kind of swagger the Volunteers had Saturday in a 24-7 Southeastern Conference win over 12th-ranked Kentucky in front of 95,258 at Neyland Stadium.
No such attitude was evident a week earlier in a lackluster 14-3 win over Charlotte, but now the Vols are 5-5 overall and 2-4 in SEC play in Jeremy Pruitt’s first season as head coach. A year after going 0-8 in the league, Tennessee needs only a win against Missouri this week or at Vanderbilt on Nov. 24 to be eligible for a bowl.
The Vols dominated on both sides of the ball, displaying a balanced attack with 215 yards rushing and 197 passing. The 412 total yards and rushing yards are the most this season against a Power Five conference opponent.
“If you take away the couple of turnovers, maybe the really bone-head decision at the end of the game and the penalties after a touchdown, I thought this was far and away the most complete game our guys have played,” Pruitt said. “I thought our staff done a fantastic job; I thought offensively we found a way to run the football against a really good football team.