LEXINGTON, Ky. - Tennessee entered Saturday night's game at Kentucky ranked 117th out of the 130 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in third-down defense.
The Volunteers will be moving closer to the national cellar in that category.
In Tennessee's 45-42 survival at Kroger Field, the Vols allowed the Wildcats to convert 12 of 17 third-down opportunities, which went a long way in enabling Kentucky to rack up a staggering 612 total yards. Quarterback runs by Florida's Emory Jones, Mississippi's Matt Corral and Alabama's Bryce Young hampered Tennessee in third-down situations earlier this season, and Kentucky's Will Levis continued those troubles by rushing for 47 yards and two touchdowns.
A Levis scramble for 13 yards to the Tennessee 3 on third-and-7 set up a 3-yard touchdown pass from Levis to tight end Justin Rigg that gave Kentucky its first lead of the game at 21-14 with 3:57 before halftime. That conversion by Levis improved Kentucky to 7-of-8 on third-down chances.
AP photo by Michael Clubb / Kentucky quarterback Will Levis is surrounded by teammates as he celebrates a touchdown during the first half of Saturday's home game against Tennessee.Another quick start
Tennessee traveled to Kentucky having already produced 28-point first quarters in Southeastern Conference Eastern Division blowouts of Missouri and South Carolina, but Saturday's first 15 minutes may have been the strangest yet for the Vols.
A 75-yard touchdown from Hendon Hooker to JaVonta Payton on the game's first play from scrimmage gave the Vols a 7-0 lead with only 11 seconds having expired. It would be a while before Tennessee got a second possession, however, as Kentucky took its first drive 75 yards for a touchdown in 14 plays and consumed eight minutes and 36 seconds.
When the Vols did get the ball back, Hooker connected with Velus Jones for a 72-yard scoring strike that made it 14-7.
The Wildcats would run out the time in the first quarter and tie the game early in the second, which left the Vols with the lead after 15 minutes despite possessing the ball for a scant 37 seconds. Tennessee tallied four first-quarter plays for 150 yards.
Tennessee has now outscored opponents 138-37 in the first quarter this season.
Spoiling perfection?
Georgia hasn't posted an undefeated run through SEC play since Herschel Walker's third and final season in 1982, and standing in the way of that is a trip next weekend to Neyland Stadium.
The Bulldogs improved to 7-0 in SEC play with Saturday's 43-6 trouncing of Missouri in Sanford Stadium.
"We'll be playing in a really tough environment, one of the toughest places to play in the country," Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said on his Zoom call. "Their fan base is bought in and all in on Coach (Josh) Heupel and his staff. It will be a tremendous atmosphere and opportunity - so many other conferences don't have teams that maybe aren't in the hunt for a championship but have so much passion that they're going to sell it out and be really loud. It will be a great atmosphere."
Said quarterback Stetson Bennett: "Neyland's going to be rocking. They're going to be ready for us."
The Bulldogs have won four consecutive series meetings by at least three touchdowns, but Smart expects more than just a loud crowd.
"They've got a really good football team," he said. "I've been able to watch them play in several weeks when we've been off or had an early game, and they've actually played a lot better than some of their scores indicate."
Odds and ends
Tennessee's advantage in the Kentucky series is now 82-26-9, including a 39-15-3 mark in Lexington. ... Fifth-year senior defensive tackle LaTrell Bumphus, freshman safety Christian Charles and redshirt guard Kingston Harris did not make the trip for the Vols. ... Walter Nolen, the nation's top defensive lineman out of Powell High School just north of Knoxville, committed Saturday to Texas A&M.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.