KENTUCKY FOOTBALL POSTGAME NOTES
KENTUCKY VS. TENNESSEE  
KROGER FIELD – LEXINGTON, KY.
NOV. 6, 2021
 
FINAL SCORE: Tennessee 45, No. 18/17 Kentucky 42
 
Team Records and Series Information

• Kentucky is 6-3 overall, 4-3 in the Southeastern Conference. Tennessee is 5-4 overall, 3-3 in the SEC.
• Tennessee leads the series 82-26-9.  With 117 total games played, it is the third-most played rivalry in Southeastern Conference.
• Kentucky had its third straight sellout crowd tonight, first time that has happened since the 2009 season.  Attendance was 61,084.
• Next for Kentucky: the Wildcats are at Vanderbilt on Saturday, Nov. 13. Game time is 7 p.m. EST (6 p.m. CST in Nashville) and it will be telecast on ESPN2.

 
Team Notes

• Kentucky ran 99 offensive plays tonight, a school record for a regulation-length game.
  • The old record was 95 plays vs. LSU in 1997.  The overall record is 110 plays in the four-overtime game vs. Tennessee in 2007.
• Kentucky had 35 first downs tonight, third-most in school history and second-most for a regulation game.
• Kentucky had 612 yards total offense, most since 635 yards at Tennessee in 2016.
• This is the first time in school history that UK had scored at least 41 points in a regulation game and lost.  Prior to tonight, Kentucky was 119-0 when the Wildcats scored at least 41 points in regulation.
• Kentucky broke a streak of six consecutive wins in games decided by seven points or less, including 4-0 this season. 
  • Since the beginning of the 2016 season, Kentucky is 19-8 (.704) in games decided by seven points or less.
• With Chris Rodriguez Jr. rushing for 109 yards tonight, it is the seventh-consecutive home game vs. Tennessee that UK has had a 100-yard rusher.
• This is the fourth time in school history that UK has had a 350-yard passer, 150-yard receiver and 100-yard receiver in the same game and the first time since Auburn in 2015.
• This is the first time that UK has had two players with seven catches against an SEC opponent since Randall Cobb and Raymond Sanders vs. Georgia in 2010.
• Coach Mark Stoops is now 55-53 at Kentucky.  After two games of the 2016 season, his record was 12-26 but has gone 43-27 (.614) since.
• Stoops extended his school record for total games coached with 108.  He is in his ninth season as head coach of the Wildcats, tying Fran Curci (1973-81) for most seasons as head coach at UK.

 
Player Notes

• Junior quarterback Will Levis accounted for 419 yards total offense and five touchdowns.

  • He completed 31 of 49 passes for a career-high 372 yards and three touchdowns.
  • Despite being sacked three times, he rushed 15 times for a net 47 yards and two TDs.
  • It is the most passing yards for a Wildcat since Patrick Towles threw for 390 yards vs. Mississippi State in 2014.
  • It is the most yards total offense since Towles had 466 (390 passing, 76 rushing) vs. Mississippi State in 2014.
  • He is the first Wildcat to have at least 15 rushing touchdowns and five rushing TDs in one season since Jared Lorenzen in 2003.
  • He now has two games this season with three passing touchdowns and two rushing TDs in the same game, the only Wildcat ever to do so.
  • He is the first UK quarterback with at least 30 completions against two SEC opponents in the same season since Mike Hartline in 2010.
• Junior running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. led the Wildcats in rushing with 22 carries for 109 yards.
  • It is his fifth 100-yard game of the season.  He is tied for fifth place in school history in 100-yard rushing games with 11.
  • He has 2,279 career rushing yards, remains in ninth place in school history.
• Junior running back Kavosiey Smoke rushed 11 times for 53 yards and one touchdown.
  • He has 1,239 career rushing yards, 33^rd place on the UK career rushing list.
• Junior wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson set career highs with 13 receptions for 166 yards, including a touchdown.
  • 13 catches ties for second-most in a game in UK history, most since Lynn Bowden Jr. at Missouri in 2018.
  • He is the first UK player with at least nine catches in three straight games since Anthony White in 1998.
  • It is his fourth 100-yard game of the season, sixth of his career.
  • He is UK’s first 100-yard receiver vs. Tennessee since Javess Blue in 2014.
  • 166 yards marks the second-most in school history against Tennessee, behind 170 by Dee Smith in 1987.
  • He has 71 catches this season, seventh on the UK single-season list and most since Randall Cobb in 2010.
• Senior wide receiver Josh Ali caught seven passes for 74 yards.
  • He has 1,177 receiving yards in his career, advancing to 26th place in UK history.
• Sophomore tight end Izayah Cummings set career highs with four catches for 75 yards, including the second touchdown catch of his career.  He also caught a 28-yard pass on a 4^th-and-24 play late in the game. 
• Senior linebacker Jacquez Jones made five tackles, including one-half quarterback sack, and had a fumble recovery.
• Senior defensive end Josh Paschal had one tackle, a shared tackle for loss.
  • He has 32.5 tackles for loss in his career, tying Danny Trevathan for sixth place in UK history.
• Sophomore linebacker J.J. Weaver had four tackles, including 2.5 sacks.
• Sophomore safety Vito Tisdale led the Wildcats in tackles with six.
• Senior defensive tackle Abule Abadi-Fitzgerald got the first two sacks of his career, one of which caused a fumble.
• Game captains for today were Josh Paschal, Chris Rodriguez Jr., Marquan McCall and Luke Fortner.