Tennessee Pulls Away From Kentucky With 21-Point Fourth Quarter

Tennessee scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull away from Kentucky for a 34-6 win Saturday night at Neyland Stadium, as DeSean Bishop rushed for 109 yards and two scores and the Tennessee defense forced three turnovers and two turnovers on downs while keeping Kentucky out of the end zone for the entire game.

Kentucky opened the game with an eight-play drive to the Tennessee 45 before punting, and its second possession reached the Tennessee 39 before Kenny Minchey was intercepted in the end zone by Dejuan Lane for a touchback. The two defenses traded punts for most of the quarter until Tennessee broke through with 1:06 remaining, when Daune Morris took the first snap of the drive from his own 34 and ran 66 yards up the middle for a touchdown. Cooper Ranvier added the extra point, and Tennessee led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Kentucky answered with an 11-play, 50-yard drive that ended with a 43-yard field goal from Adam Zouagui at 9:53 of the second quarter, but Tennessee responded with a six-play, 45-yard drive and a 48-yard field goal from Ranvier at 7:16. Kentucky appeared to be moving again when Jovantae Barnes broke a 15-yard run, but Qua Moss forced a fumble that Kayin Lee recovered at the Kentucky 48. Tennessee was unable to take advantage and punted Kentucky back to its own 4, and from there Kentucky put together its best drive of the night, going 89 yards in 12 plays behind completions of 33 and 15 yards from Minchey to Kenny Darby and a roughing the passer penalty. Kentucky reached the Tennessee 6 with under a minute remaining, but a one-yard loss by CJ Baxter and two incompletions intended for Willie Rodriguez forced Kentucky to settle for a 25-yard Zouagui field goal with nine seconds left in the half. Tennessee led 10-6 at halftime.

Tennessee opened the third quarter with a 10-play, 55-yard drive that ended with a 39-yard field goal from Ranvier at 10:44. Kentucky followed with an eight-play drive that stalled at the Tennessee 47, and after a Tennessee punt, Kentucky moved to midfield late in the quarter. On third-and-8 from the 50, however, Moss sacked Minchey and forced his second fumble of the game, and Mariyon Dye recovered and returned it 11 yards to the Kentucky 36 with 30 seconds left in the quarter. Tennessee led 13-6 after three quarters.

Tennessee turned the turnover into points early in the fourth quarter, as Bishop carried twice for nine yards and a first down before quarterback Faizon Brandon found Mike Matthews for a 24-yard touchdown pass at 13:34. Kentucky drove to the Tennessee 50 on its next possession, but on fourth-and-1 Arion Carter sacked Minchey for an 11-yard loss and a turnover on downs. George MacIntyre then hit Braylon Staley for 34 yards to the Kentucky 5, and Bishop scored from five yards out on the next play at 9:45. Kentucky reached the Tennessee 22 on its following drive behind a 38-yard completion from Minchey to Rodriguez, but a fourth-and-6 pass intended for Darby fell incomplete and Kentucky turned the ball over on downs again at 6:28. Tennessee closed the game with a 10-play, 65-yard drive that stayed entirely on the ground and took 5:22 off the clock, with Bishop converting a fourth-and-1 at his own 44 with a nine-yard run, adding a 19-yard run two plays later and finishing the drive with a five-yard touchdown run with 1:06 remaining. Tennessee won 34-6.

Kentucky controlled the ball for 35:17 compared to 24:43 for Tennessee, ran 71 plays to Tennessee’s 52 and finished with 20 first downs to 14, but Tennessee averaged 7.5 yards per play to Kentucky’s 5.1 and outgained Kentucky 389-361. Tennessee rushed for 240 yards on 37 carries, an average of 6.5 yards per attempt, with Bishop carrying 25 times for 109 yards and Morris adding 85 yards on five carries. MacIntyre completed 9 of 14 passes for 125 yards, and Staley led Tennessee with four catches for 50 yards. Kentucky was 2 of 2 in the red zone but came away with field goals both times, went 0 of 2 on fourth down and lost both of its fumbles.

Minchey completed 26 of 34 passes, 76%, for 224 yards with one interception and was sacked four times. Rodriguez caught six passes for 81 yards and Darby added seven catches for 69 yards, while Baxter led Kentucky on the ground with 54 yards on 11 carries and Barnes ran for 48 yards on seven carries.

Carter led the Tennessee defense with 13 tackles, two sacks and four tackles for loss, while Moss finished with nine tackles, a sack and two forced fumbles as Tennessee recorded four sacks and eight tackles for loss. Ty Bryant led Kentucky with nine tackles, Bo Barnes added seven and Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace recorded Kentucky’s lone sack.