KENTUCKY POSTGAME NOTES
Kentucky at Tennessee
Neyland Stadium
Oct. 17, 2020
FINAL SCORE: Kentucky 34, No. 18/17 Tennessee 7
Team Records and Series Information
- Kentucky is 2-2 and Tennessee is 2-2.
- Tennessee leads the series 81-26-9.
- This was UK’s first win in Knoxville since 1984.
- This was the first time that UK has defeated a ranked Tennessee team in Knoxville.
- This was UK’s largest margin of victory vs. Tennessee since a 27-0 win in 1935.
- This was UK’s largest margin of victory in Knoxville since the first game of the series, a 56-0 win in 1893.
- At 116 games, it is UK’s most-played rivalry, and the third-most played rivalry in SEC history.
- Next for Kentucky: the Wildcats are at Missouri on Saturday, Oct. 24. Game time is 4 p.m. ET (3 p.m. CT in Columbia) and it will be televised by the SEC Network.
Team Notes
- Kentucky’s last win over a ranked SEC team was in 2018 at home over No. 14 Mississippi State.
- Kentucky’s last road win over a ranked SEC team was 2018 at Florida.
- This is the largest margin of victory on the road vs. an Associated Press-ranked team in school history.
- UK got interceptions on three consecutive possessions in the second quarter, returning the first two for touchdowns.
- It was the first time that UK had defensive touchdowns in consecutive games since 2015, when Mike Edwards (vs. Charlotte) and Josh Forrest (vs. Louisville) had interception touchdowns.
- It was the first time that UK had two defensive touchdowns in the same game since 2014 vs. Louisiana-Monroe, when Josh Forrest and Marcus McWilson had interception touchdowns.
- Kentucky has nine interceptions in two games, most in a two-game stretch since 1993 vs. Kent State (two) and Florida (seven).
- This is the fewest points UK has allowed in consecutive weeks vs. SEC opponents (nine) since 1976 vs. Florida and at Tennessee (also nine).
- Kentucky played a dominant second half, winning 17-0.
- UK offensive possessions were touchdown, field goal, touchdown and a 65-yard drive to run out the clock.
- The UK defense allowed only 84 yards in the second half, 65 of which did not come until Tennessee’s final possession.
Player Notes
· UK’s game captain was linebacker Boogie Watson.
· Senior quarterback Terry Wilson completed 12 of 15 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown.
- He also had eight carries for a net 32 yards.
· Sophomore running back Chris Rodriguez led the Wildcats on the ground with 13 carries for 73 yards, including a two-yard touchdown run that closed the scoring.
· Senior running back A.J. Rose rushed for 22 yards.
- Rose now has 1,497 career rushing yards, moving past Mike Fanuzzi for 22nd place in school history.
· Junior wide receiver Allen Dailey Jr. caught a one-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. It is his first TD of the season and second of his career. For the game, he caught three passes for 25 yards.
· Senior wide receiver Josh Ali paced the Wildcats receiving with four catches for 38 yards.
· Sophomore cornerback Kelvin Joseph jumped the route on a short sideline pass in the second quarter, intercepting the pass and racing 41 yards for a touchdown.
- He also had an interception last Saturday vs. Mississippi State. For the game, he also had four tackles and a pass breakup.
· Following Joseph’s TD return, junior linebacker Jamin Davis intercepted a pass over the middle and returned it 85 yards for a touchdown. He went on to have a career-high 12 tackles.
- Davis also had an interception last week vs. Mississippi State and has four in his career.
- It is the eighth-longest interception return in school history and Kentucky’s longest interception return since David Johnson had a 95-yard TD return at Cincinnati in 1986.
- It is UK’s longest interception return vs. an SEC opponent since Darryl Bishop had a 97-yard runback in 1972.
- It is UK’s longest interception return in an SEC road game since Joe Stephan had an 89-yarder at Florida in 1969.
· Following Davis’ TD return, junior safety Tyrell Ajian had an interception, setting up a field goal. It is Ajian’s third-career interception.
· Senior linebacker Boogie Watson wore uniform No. 22 today in honor of teammate Chris Oats, who is dealing with a serious medical condition.
- Watson had six tackles, including a six-yard quarterback sack, plus a QB hurry.
- It is his team-high third sack of the season and he has 16.5 in his career, one short of Jeremy Jarmon for fifth place in school history.
· Redshirt freshman linebacker J.J. Weaver had six tackles, including two for loss, both career highs.
· Senior punter Max Duffy punted three times for a 46.7-yard average.
· Senior kicker Matt Ruffolo made all of his kicks today, field goals of 30 and 27 yards, plus all four extra points.