LEXINGTON, Ky. – No. 20 Tennessee football outlasted Kentucky for a 33-27 win on Saturday, its first on the road this season.
Quarterback Joe Milton was a steady 17-of-20 passing for 230 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.
Dylan Sampson's 12-yard TD run pushed the Vols ahead 33-24 with 7:30 remaining. Kentucky answered with a field goal to trim UT's lead to 33-27 with 4:24 remaining.
UT (6-2, 3-2 SEC) broke out of its recent road skid after losing four of the previous five away games. It quieted a sellout crowd at Kroger Field with a final drive to run out the clock.
The Vols have now won three straight over Kentucky (5-3, 2-3) under third-year coach Josh Heupel.
UT will play Connecticut on Nov. 4 (noon ET, SEC Network) at Neyland Stadium. Here are six observations from the Vols’ road win over Kentucky.
Charles Campbell's kicks keep Vols ahead
The bad news for UT was that it squandered opportunities for touchdowns because of penalties and red-zone failures. The good news is that placekicker Charles Campbell made field goals to hold the lead.
Campbell made field goals from 34, 35, 44 and 49 yards. The four field goals in one game tied his career high. The Indiana transfer also made four field goals against Western Kentucky in both 2021 and 2022.
Jaylen Wright runs for 100 again
Jaylen Wright posted his fifth 100-yard rushing game of the season. He had 120 yards and one TD on 11 carries. And the Vols rushed for 248 yards as a team.
It was a notable feat considering Kentucky entered the game as the No. 2 rushing defense in the SEC, allowing only 95.7 yards per game.
It’s the second premier rushing defense that UT has bulldozed this season. It rushed for 232 yards in a win over Texas A&M.
Josh Heupel bounces back from Alabama
Heupel is a master of the rebound win. His record improved to 12-2 in games following a loss during his six-year head coaching career.
Heupel was 6-1 after a loss at UCF, and he’s now 6-1 after a loss at UT. His only back-to-back losses at UT came in 2021 to No. 13 Ole Miss and No. 4 Alabama.
The Vols didn’t hang their head after a frustrating 34-20 loss a week ago. Instead, they got a much-needed road victory to post a 2-1 record in October.
Meanwhile, UT now leads Kentucky 84-26-9 on the field in the all-time series.
Vols still failing to finish in red zone
Two potential TD drives for UT were derailed by penalties in the first half.
The Vols reached the red zone, but they stalled because left tackle John Campbell was flagged for holding on third down. On another drive, UT reached the Wildcats’ 31. But center Cooper Mays was called for false start when he moved the football prematurely.
In the third quarter, Milton was sacked on third down at the Kentucky 13 to squander another TD opportunity.
It's a frustrating turn for UT, which led the nation in TD percentage (79.1%) in the red zone last season. But the Vols entered the Kentucky game ranked No. 95 in that category, and it got worse. They settled for field goals in their first two trips to the red zone against the Wildcats.
Freshman receiver hauls in first touchdown
UT is still searching for consistency in his receiving corps. But there were bright spots from recent additions to the lineup.
Redshirt freshman Chas Nimrod scored the first TD of his career on a 39-yard pass from Milton. Nimrod shook loose from cornerback Jordan Robinson and blew past him on a go route down the sideline. It stretched UT’s lead to 20-10 in the second quarter.
Nimrod entered the game with only five receptions for 41 yards in his brief career. He almost surpassed that yardage total on one catch.
Oregon transfer Dont’e Thornton made his first start and caught a 47-yard pass to set up a field goal in the third quarter.
Vols score first, as they usually do
The Vols don’t always finish a game well, but they know how to start one. They’ve scored first in six of eight games, including this one.
UT’s offense scored a TD on its opening drive for the sixth time in eight games. Wright broke a 52-yard TD run to complete a five-play, 70-yard drive in only 1:48 of game clock.
And UT’s defense has been just as successful to start games. The Vols have allowed only two scores, a TD and field goal, on opponents’ opening drives. Kentucky went three-and-out on its first possession and failed on fourth-and-1 on its second possession.
It helped UT go ahead 10-0. The Vols have outscored opponents 75-26 in the first quarter.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Emailadam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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