Kentucky vs. Tennessee: Game Grades, Analysis for Wildcats and Volunteers

The Tennessee Volunteers cruised to a blowout 50-16 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats Saturday evening.

Other than a game-opening drive that culminated in a field goal and a brief pass-heavy drive late in the second quarter, Kentucky's once-explosive offense never really put up a fight against Tennessee's rebounding defense.

As dominant as Tennessee's defense was, the offense performed even better. Quarterback Joshua Dobbs ended his night at the beginning of the fourth quarter with nearly 300 yards passing and three touchdowns through the air to go with nearly 50 yards rushing and one touchdown on the ground.

Overall, it was a nearly perfect game for the Vols and a disaster on several levels for the Wildcats. 

Here are the halftime and final game grades for both teams using statistics from NCAA.com's game recap. 

Tennessee Volunteers Game Grades

Position Unit	First-Half Grades	Final Grades
Passing Offense	B	A-
Pass Defense	C	B+
Rushing Offense	B	B+
Rush Defense	A	A
Special Teams	C+	A-
Coaching	B	A

Passing Offense

Joshua Dobbs threw for nearly 300 yards, and much of that production came in the first half.

Dobbs is remarkably efficiency at hitting receivers on must-complete third-down situations, but he's still a little shaky at times, as he overthrew a few wide-open receivers. 

In fact, a 300-yard performance could easily have been a 350-yard performance were it not for a few timing errors and overthrows. Had Dobbs played the entire game instead of just three quarters, it's likely he would have gone for 400-plus yards against Kentucky's defense.

Pass Defense

Aside from a strong opening drive and a last, desperate gasp of air right before the half, Patrick Towles and his backup, Reese Phillips, were both held in check for most of the game.

Kentucky finished the night with just 168 yards passing, and most of that came on chunk plays right before the half to give the Wildcats 10 quick points. The Vols secondary also broke up several passes, one of which would have been a touchdown.

Rushing Offense

Dobbs rushed for nearly 50 yards and one touchdown, and Jalen Hurd added 118 yards and another touchdown on the ground for the Vols. 

Although Kentucky stopped the Vols from breaking off any big runs, Tennessee still managed to average 4.2 yards per carry, which allowed the team to move the chains and march right down the field. 

Rush Defense

Towles was Kentucky's leading rusher with 29 yards on the night. Tennessee's front four held the Wildcats' ground game to just 94 total yards, and without a rushing attack to fall back on, Kentucky's offense quickly fell apart.

Special Teams

Aaron Medley missed an extra point and a field goal, but he still put 14 points on the board for the Vols.

Medley isn't perfect, but he's a pretty reliable weapon for Tennessee inside the 40-yard line, which is great news considering he's only a freshman. 

Matt Darr also had a solid night punting the game, backing Kentucky's offense up and allowing Tennessee's defense to pin them deep and get great field position. 

Evan Berry's 50-yard kickoff return also provided a huge spark to the offense and led to seven quick points to start the second half and essentially seal the victory for Tennessee. 

Coaching

Other than a debatable call to squib-kick before halftime that led to three points for the Wildcats, Tennessee's coaches called a solid game all around. 

The offense fired on all cylinders, and the defense had few breakdowns. It was a solid job by Butch Jones, Mike Bajakian and John Jancek.

Kentucky Wildcats Game Grades

Position Units	First-Half Grades	Final Grades
Passing Offense	C+	C-
Pass Defense	C	C-
Rushing Offense	C-	D
Rush Defense	D	D
Special Teams	B+	C
Coaching	D	D

Passing Offense

Towles looked sharp on Kentucky's first drive of the game, but after an ankle injury sent him to the locker room for a couple of offensive series, he never really regained his composure.

To make matters worse, Towles' backup, Phillips, threw for zero yards and one pick-six. 

Without an effective passing game, the Wildcats were dead in the water as soon as Towles left the game. 

Pass Defense

Dobbs was 19-of-29, but at least half of his off-target passes were due to poor timing or errant throws. Kentucky's secondary just didn't have an answer for Tennessee's wide receiver corps, and the defensive line only sacked Dobbs once and couldn't keep him from connecting on critical third-down conversions.

Rushing Offense

It's not necessarily a bad thing when a quarterback leads a team in rushing, but it definitely is when his rushing only leads to 29 yards.

Kentucky just couldn't get anything going on the ground, and the offensive line appeared gassed and overmatched shortly after the game started. 

Rush Defense

The Wildcats managed to limit big runs by Tennessee, but they couldn't stop Hurd from gaining four or five yards on nearly every carry. 

Tennessee's relentless rushing attack eventually wore down the Kentucky defense and allowed the Vols to cruise down the field with ease.

Special Teams

Austin MacGinnis made all three field goals, including a huge 54-yarder right before the half.

However, Kentucky gave up a big punt return to Evan Berry that led to immediate points for Tennessee to open the half, and Landon Foster's punts left much to be desired. Not a great performance by this unit for the Wildcats, which is becoming a recurring theme this season.

Coaching

It's tough to fault Mark Stoops for losing a game like this, especially playing on the road after eight games without a bye week and four consecutive losses.

However, Stoops' team appeared to lay down immediately after Tennessee scored to open the second half, and in fact, the play-calling in the third quarter even seemed to suggest that Stoops was trying to speed up the inevitable loss.

The Wildcats still have a lot to play for in two weeks when they take on Louisville, but they'll need a much more complete performance to stand a chance.