Tight end Miles Kitselman caught six passes for 97 yards and a touchdown for the Volunteers (7-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) as they won their third straight and kept their College Football playoff hopes alive.
“We don't take any win for granted,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. “Every week is its own season. You've gotta play smart football and tie it all together.”
The Wildcats (3-5, 1-6) lost their fourth straight game after five starters were out with injuries. During the game, receiver Barion Brown and quarterback Brock Vandagriff were also hurt.
“We finished the game down 10 starters,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. “We're pretty beat up right now.”
After trailing 10-7 at halftime, Kitselman and Sampson scored in the third quarter to put Tennessee up 21-10. Gavin Wimsatt replaced Vandagriff, who left after a hard hit by James Pearce, and threw an interception on his first series. On his second series, Wimsatt hit Ja'Mori Maclin for a 32-yard TD to cut Kentucky's deficit to 21-18.
Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava completed 28 of 38 passes for 292 yards and the TD to Kitselman.
“(Iamaleava) played with great confidence and great poise,” Heupel said. “(The pass to Kitselman) was just a player making plays. He understood the traffic going by.”
“(My performance) was OK,” Iamaleava said. “The sky's the limit for this offense.”
Sampson stretched the advantage to 28-18 as he was carried by a scrum for a 6-yard score. It was Sampson's 19th touchdown of the season, a school record.
“I was surprised (the officials) didn't blow the whistle (before he scored),” Sampson said. “My teammates wanted (the school record) more than me.”
Jamarion Wilcox rushed for 102 yards, including a 50-yarder on the game's first snap.
“It's hard, it's challenging,” Stoops said about going 4 of 14 on third down against Tennessee's defense. “Against a good team like this, it's frustrating.”
Tennessee scored in the first half for the first time in four games when Peyton Lewis scored from three yards out. The Vols missed two field goals, dropped a pass in the end zone and fumbled on the Wildcat 22 but still got the job done.
The takeawayKentucky: If the Wildcats intend on playing in a bowl game this season, they must win the three remaining games on their schedule. They have now lost four straight games and will need to make health a priority.
Tennessee: Vols coach Josh Heupel keeps reminding his players to “stay in the moment" and not look ahead to a showdown with Georgia on Nov. 16. For it to be a pivotal game, Tennessee has to take care of business next week against Mississippi State. There is no margin of error when a berth in the College Football Playoff is concerned.
Poll implicationsThere is a small chance Tennessee moves up after No. 3 Penn State lost to No. 4 Ohio State.
Up nextThe Wildcats will host Murray State Nov. 16, while the Vols will play their fourth straight home game against Mississippi State Saturday.
Here's a more in depth look at the game from UK athletics:
Freshman Jamarion Wilcox rushed for a career-high 102 yards but Kentucky lost to No. 7 Tennessee 28-18 on Saturday night at Neyland Stadium.The Cats played two quarterbacks in the game, with Brock Vandagriff starting and passing for 123 yards and a score. Gavin Wimsatt came in when Vandagriff was injured in the second half and the Rutgers transfer passed for 69 yards and a score.
Kentucky received the opening kickoff and on the first play from scrimmage, Jamarion Wilcox scampered 50 yards down the right sideline to the UT 27. Vandagriff then connected with Barion Brown for eight yards. An offsides penalty gave the Cats five more yards. The Cats would get to the UT five yard line. But on fourth and two, Vandagriff’s pass intended for Dane Key was incomplete and the Cats turned the ball over on downs.
Tennessee would use it’s fast-paced offense to quickly get out of the hole and across midfield. However, the UK defense would stand tall, forcing a Tennessee field goal attempt. The 43-yarder from Max Gilbert hooked left and was no good, and the Cats took over at their own 25 with 7:55 to play in the first quarter.
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Vandagriff found Hardley Gilmore for a 25-yard gain to midfield. Three plays later, Vandagriff found Key on the left sideline, and the Lexington native made a spectacular catch for a 17-yard gain and a first down. Two plays later, Vandagriff found tight end Josh Kattus for a 27-yard touchdown. Alex Raynor made the point after and UK led 7-0 with 5:28 to play in the first quarter.
The Vols would get a pair of first downs on their next drive, getting to midfield. Tennessee would punt and UK would take over at its own seven yard line with 3:20 left in the period.UK would get out of the hole on a connection from Vandagriff to Brown for 16 yards. However, three plays later, Vandagriff was intercepted by UT’s Andre Turrentine and the Vols took over at the UK 45 with 1:28 left in the quarter.
On the second play of the next UT drive, Kentucky linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson forced a fumble that was recovered by Keehsawn Silver, giving the Cats the ball at their own 22 with just 54 seconds left in the quarter.As the second quarter began, Kentucky was forced to punt and Tennessee took over at its own 45 with 14:46 remaining in the half.
Tennessee would drive into Kentucky territory and appeared to be ready to tie the game. But a pass breakup by Jordan Lovett and a sack by Tyrese Fearbry forced a UT field goal attempt. However, Gilbert missed wide right and the score remained 7-0 Cats with 12:14 left in the half.
Kentucky was unable to do anything with the next drive and the Cats punted again. This time, UT took over at its own 35 after a 55-yard punt by UK’s Aidan Laros.
The Vols would go on a 14-play, 65-yard drive, ending with a one-yard touchdown run from Peyton Lewis. Gilbert would add the PAT and the game was tied 7-7 with 4:45 left in the half.Kentucky would methodically march down the field on the next drive, with the help of a roughing the passer call on Tennessee.
Just before the half, the Cats got into the UT red zone before the drive stalled. Raynor connected on a 32-yard field goal, giving the Cats a 10-7 lead with 30 seconds left in the half. That would be the halftime score.
UT got the ball to start the third quarter and the Vols wasted no time getting into UK territory. The Vols would eventually get into the UK red zone before the Cats again stepped up, forcing another UT field goal attempt. For the third time in the game, Gilbert missed, this time wide left, and the Cats took over at their own 20 with 11:25 left in the third quarter.
Kentucky would get a first down on the ensuing drive, but on the next play, Vandagriff was hit and fumbled and Tennessee recovered at the UK 28. The Vols would use five plays to cover those 28 yards, ending with a Dylan Sampson seven-yard touchdown rush. Gilbert added the point after and Tennessee led 14-10 with 8:28 left in the third quarter.
The teams would exchange punts before Kentucky, with Wimsatt at quarterback for the injured Vandagriff, marched into UT territory using the ground game. However, Wimsatt would be intercepted by Tennessee’s Will Brooks, who returned it to the UK 10. Two plays later, the Vols would score on a touchdown pass from Nico Iamaleava to Miles Kitselman. The extra point made it 21-10 Tennessee near the end of the third quarter.
As the fourth quarter began, Kentucky drove into Tennessee territory. That’s when Wimsatt found Ja’Mori Maclin for a 32-yard touchdown. The Cats would go for two, and Wimsatt found Maclin again to convert the try, cutting the UT lead to 21-18 with 13:31 remaining.
The Kentucky defense did its job on the next drive, forcing Tennessee into a three-and-out. The Vols would punt and the Cats took over at their own 34 with 12:51 left in the game.On the second play of the UK drive, Demie Sumo-Karngbaye rushed for 13 yards to get the Cats near midfield. However, the drive stalled and Kentucky punted it back to Tennessee, who took over at its own nine yard line with 10:09 to play.
Tennessee would score on a six-yard touchdown rush by Sampson to make it 28-18 with 4:55 to play.
Kentucky is off next week before returning to action on Nov. 16 against Murray State.