DARK MODE - Vols claw the 'Cats 44-6
By Tom Mabry, Knoxville Daily Sun - UT Football Writer
October 30, 2022, 10:50 a.m.

Image by Tom Mabry

Halloween Matchups have been not been frightening for the Tennessee football squad. When the Vols took the field this spooky weekend, the Dark Mode Orange and Black headgear and uniforms reminded longtime fans of the Eric Berry led team that wore similar threads and crushed the South Carolina Gamecocks 31-13 in 2009. In the year 2022, the number 3 ranked Vols cruised past number 19 Kentucky 44-6.

Neyland Stadium was abuzz with a dazzling pregame light and pyrotechnics show that primed the 101,000 plus fans for a great show. For the first time since the Vols’ 1951 National Championship year, Tennessee and Kentucky were both Top 25 teams. Kentucky was led by future NFL stars - quarterback Will Levis and running back Chris Rodriguez. Tennessee welcomed back standout receiver Cedric Tillman to complement Hendon Hooker’s exciting receiving corps, led in Tillman’s four game absence by record breaking Jalin Hyatt. ESPN was on hand to air the contest, which was billed as a matchup of elite college quarterbacks.

Image by Tom Mabry

Hooker got the better of Levis on the evening, going 19-25 passing for 245 yards and 3 touchdowns. In the best Tennessee defensive performance of the year, Levis struggled with less than one hundred yards passing and three interceptions. Rodriguez managed 64 yards on 19 carries, but that performance was far below his norm and not nearly enough to stem the Vols’ advance.

Kentucky managed to keep it close for one quarter. Hyatt beat the Cats’ secondary on a secondary mismatch for the first score, and Chase McGrath added the extra point. Kentucky struck back, covering 71 yards in nine plays. The extra point was blocked, and the initial stanza ended 7-6 Vols.

The floodgates opened in the second quarter. Princeton Fant embraced his new running back role by scoring from the 2, Jalin Wright also found paydirt from the 1 and Hyatt tallied on a 31 yard pass from Hooker. Kentucky failed to counter punch, and the Vols’ scored after Kalib Perry blocked a Kentucky punt less than a minute before halftime gave the Vols a 27-6 lead.

Parker Mabry, a Freshman in Sports Communications at UT. Image by Tom Mabry

Image by Tom Mabry

Things didn’t get any better for the Cats after the Pride of the Southland band exhibited a spirited Halloween themed halftime show. Brandon Turnage and Deneiko Slaughter intercepted Levis while Hooker scored on a five yard keeper. McGrath missed one field goal but compensated with a 29 yarder. Hooker’s 5 yard scamper made it 37-6 at the end of the third, and Hooker’s second TD pass for 13 yards to Jabari Small ended the scoring.

In his postgame comments, Coach Josh Heupel lauded the fans, the atmosphere and the Vols’ defense, which gave up a paltry 205 yards to Kentucky in total offense. He noted that his team is as healthy as they’ve been all season, which is crucially important heading into next weekend’s Battle Between the Hedges at Athens. It certainly didn’t appear that his team was prematurely looking forward to the defending National Champions, led by folk hero quarterback Stetson Bennett. After clawing the Cats, the Vols have a great opportunity to dump the Dawgs.

While Heupel may have envisioned this opportunity in only his second year at the helm, the long suffering Tennessee fans are ecstatic with the program’s progress. Tennessee answered the bell on the Big Stage earlier this year against Alabama: will they be ready for an even bigger stage at Georgia?


GAME NOTES:

• The Kentucky faithful were outmanned by the Vols fans. The first quarter Kentucky score turned into a Tennessee “Rocky Top” moment when any Cat momentum was thwarted by Jeremy Banks blocking the Matt Ruffolo extra point. Ruffolo wouldn’t get another chance for the remainder of the game.

• Kentucky managed only six total yards in the 3rd Quarter.

• The win makes Tennessee 8-0 for only the second time since your writer was born. The other time was Tennessee’s 1998 National Championship year.

• Jalin Hyatt set a school record for 14 touchdowns receiving this year, eclipsing the previous mark by Marcus Nash in 1997. The quarterback that year was Peyton Manning.

• The Dark Mode fans were festive, many donning Halloween costumes which created a special Neyland spectacle.

• The first College Playoff rankings will be announced on Tuesday. It’s conceivable that No. 1 will be playing No. 2 next weekend in Athens.