Dominant Defense Helps Cats Break Streak in Knoxville
The date was Nov. 24, 1984 and Ronald Reagan was completing his first term in the White House. The top songs in the United States were “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” by Wham! and “Purple Rain” by Prince. Eddie Murphy starred in Beverly Hills Cop, which was released in theaters the following week.
It was on that date that head coach Jerry Claiborne and Kentucky beat Tennessee 17-12 in Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. Running back George Adams had a big game for the Cats, who had Bill Ransdell at quarterback that day.
The following year, the Vols would win the first of 26 straight games over the Cats, a streak that was broken in 2011 when the Cats used wide receiver Matt Roark at quarterback and beat UT 10-3 at Commonwealth Stadium.
But the Cats still had not won in Knoxville in 36 years heading into Saturday’s contest. Even in 2018, when Kentucky had one of its best teams in a long time, the Cats fell flat at Neyland Stadium, losing to UT 24-7.
Facing a streak of 17 straight losses in Knoxville, the 2020 Cats decided to take a new approach. Head coach Mark Stoops said the team would change up their travel plans, hoping to get a better result this time around.
Did they ever. The Cats went into their house of horrors, Neyland Stadium, and dominated the Vols. Kentucky had two pick-six touchdowns and the stout UK defense held Tennessee in check all day. It all added up to a 34-7 pounding of 18th-ranked Tennessee, something that many experts did not see coming.
Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops knew his team was making progress and he was happy to see their hard work pay off on Saturday.
“Could not be more proud of our football team,” Stoops said after the game. “Just the way we’ve responded the past couple of weeks. Early in the season, we had some tough losses but it’s not for lack of effort. Our guys have had the right attitude, I think we’ve cleaned things up. We’ve seen what we can do when we put it together.”
After a scoreless first quarter, the Cats got on the board when Kelvin Joseph intercepted a Jarrett Guarantano pass and returned it 41 yards down the sideline to give UK a 7-0 lead.
On the very next possession, with Tennessee driving, UK linebacker Jamin Davis picked off a Guarantano pass and returned it 85 yards for a score. Two pick-sixes on consecutive possessions and the Cats were in control.
Stoops knew that those two plays were huge in the game.
“I think it was really important because I thought we were doing some good things offensively, but (Tennessee) is a well-coached defense and it was going to be tough,” Stoops said. “So, to get the pick six was big. Then to back it up and get another one was really good. Obviously, that gives a lot of confidence to the team.”
Kentucky would lead 17-7 at the half and would turn to its defense, and the running game, in the second half. Kentucky held Tennessee to just 84 yards on four drives after halftime, and 62 of those came on UT’s final drive of the game.
Meanwhile, the Cats ground game came alive behind the Big Blue Wall in the second 30 minutes. Kentucky rushed for 159 yards in the second half, adding 60 passing yards for good measure. UK’s steady attack with Chris Rodriguez Jr., Asim Rose and JuTahn McClain, along with quarterback Terry Wilson, was too much for Tennessee to handle.
Stoops liked how the second half went for his team.
“I felt like we played a really solid second half, with the defense not giving up any points and the offense really controlled the football and controlled the line of scrimmage,” Stoops said.
Speaking of Wilson, he was efficient through the air on Saturday. The senior completed 12 of his 15 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. He added 32 yards rushing on eight carries, including a 23-yard scramble in the second half that set up a UK touchdown.
In the process, Wilson became the first UK quarterback since Derrick Ramsey to win at Florida, which Wilson did in 2018, and at Tennessee. Wilson led UK to streak-breaking victories in both of those contests.
But this day was all about the UK defense, which made their defensive-minded head coach happy.
“I definitely feel like our defense is getting sharper,” Stoops said. “Obviously, creating turnovers has been very big for us and very helpful to the outcome of the games. But we’ve just played cleaner overall. I feel like we’re getting really close.”
The 27-point win was the largest margin of victory for Kentucky over Tennessee since a 27-0 UK win in Lexington in 1935. It was also the largest margin of victory ever for a UK team against a ranked opponent.
Saturday marked the first time since 2008 that UK has held consecutive opponents to single digits (UK beat Louisville 27-2 and Norfolk State 38-3 to start that season). It was also the first time since 1977 that UK has held consecutive SEC opponents to single digits. That season, the Cats held three straight conference opponents to single digits, beating Georgia 33-0, Vanderbilt 28-6 and Florida 14-7. This year, it was a 24-2 win over Mississippi State coupled with Saturday’s 34-7 win in Knoxville.
Kentucky’s defense continues to improve and to create turnovers. And in Saturday’s game, it led to another streak-busting victory for Stoops and the Cats.
