Saturday’s blowout loss at Tennessee was a jarring reality check for Kentucky football

Saturday night in Knoxville felt like a significant step backward for this Kentucky football program.

In 2020, the Tennessee football program was in shambles. It lost 34-7 to Kentucky at Neyland Stadium, its first home loss to the Cats since 1984. By year’s end, Jeremy Pruitt had been fired as head coach. Phil Fulmer had been pushed out as athletics director. An NCAA rules violation investigation had commenced. UT players were leaving the program in droves.

Two years later in Neyland: Tennessee 44, Kentucky 6.

The Vols didn’t just beat the Cats, they dominated Mark Stoops’ team. The nation’s No. 1 offense rolled up 422 total yards and scored on TD passes of 55 and 31 yards. The nation’s No. 84 defense held UK to a season-low 205 yards and intercepted three Will Levis passes. Tennessee blocked a Kentucky extra point, forced an 18-yard punt and returned a punt 34 yards.

“We got beat by a better football team,” Stoops said afterward. “They beat us in every way.”

In two seasons under Josh Heupel, Tennessee has scored 89 points in Kentucky.

In two seasons under Heupel, Tennessee has gone from laughingstock to national championship contender, passing Kentucky along the way.

After all, this was supposed to be the season the Cats would make a legitimate run at a trip to Atlanta for the SEC title game. After all, Kentucky was coming off its second 10-win season in four years, had a probable first-round NFL Draft pick at quarterback and senior leadership on defense.

It hasn’t worked out that way. Saturday’s shellacking dropped Stoops’ team to 5-3 overall, 2-3 in the SEC. Any hope of Atlanta is gone. Any hope of playing in a major bowl game is hanging by a thread. Once 4-0 and ranked No. 7 in the nation, Kentucky has lost three of its last four.

Can the Cats turn it around and make something of a season that has gone off the rails? Absolutely. But the November schedule looks much more difficult than it did in September.

Next Saturday’s opponent, Missouri, is on a two-game win streak, which includes an impressive 23-10 win at No. 25 South Carolina on Saturday. The Tigers lost to Auburn in overtime, to Georgia by four and by a touchdown at Florida. The Tigers are 19th nationally in total defense. And Kentucky has rarely played well in Columbia.

After the trip to Mizzou, UK closes out the regular season with three straight home games. It should be favored against Vanderbilt, but it is a likely heavy underdog when currently No. 1-ranked Georgia comes to Kroger Field on Nov. 19. That is followed by the Nov. 26 finale against archrival Louisville.

Three weeks ago, embattled U of L Coach Scott Satterfield appeared all but gone after a 34-33 loss at Boston College. Since then, Louisville has won 34-17 at Virginia and knocked off Pittsburgh 24-10 and No. 10 Wake Forest 48-21 at Cardinal Stadium. The Cards are on a roll.

Meanwhile, Kentucky’s offense has been a year-long struggle under first-year coordinator Rich Scangarello. It was 2 of 13 on third down Saturday night and has dropped to No. 100 out of 131 FBS teams in total offense and No. 97 in scoring offense.

And the Kentucky defense is fighting a war against attrition. Losing linebacker DeAndre Square, the unit’s senior leader, early Saturday to injury didn’t help. But, as Stoops has repeated, no one is going to feel sorry for you. Not in the SEC.

Now Tennessee has put itself in the position Kentucky coveted.

“I’ve said that since Day One. There’s a bunch of schools here that aren’t interested in going backward,” Stoops said, adding, “We have to respond. It’s a tough, competitive league. We know that.”

“What’s the key? Football character,” defensive coordinator Brad White answered when asked how can the Cats recover. “What do you have inside you. There’s gonna be times when you’re riding high and things are great and there are times when you’re down low and you got to pick yourself back up.”

Three takeaways from Kentucky football’s all-systems failure at Tennessee

Why quick response to Tennessee blowout is essential for Kentucky football’s future

On a big stage, the Kentucky offense was offensive

What Kentucky football’s loss to Tennessee means for rest of season, bowl possibilities

First Scouting Report: At Missouri, UK will face a highly motivated foe