Tennessee outlasts Kentucky, pick up first road win

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Tennessee's last three visits to Kroger Field haven't been easy, but its dominance against Kentucky remains.

In spite of a shaky defensive performance, the No. 21 Vols—behind big performances from running back Jaylen Wright and quarterback Joe Milton III—outlasted the Wildcats, 33-27 in Lexington to pick up their first road win of the season and reach bowl eligibility.

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A Tennessee (6-2, 3-2 SEC) secondary without cornerback Kamal Hadden for the first time gave up 373 passing yards to Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary, but Wright gashed the Wildcats (5-3, 2-3) for 120 yards on 11 carries on the other side.

Milton finished 17-of-20 passing for 227 yards and a touchdown to help the Vols bounce back from a loss to Alabama.

Here is a closer look at Tennessee's sixth victory.

It took Tennessee five plays on its first drive to make an early statement. Jaylen Wright took a hand-off 53 yards for a touchdown to give the Vols a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the first quarter.

Kentucky tried to gamble on its second possession, opting to keep its offense on the field on fourth-and-1 from its own 34-yard line but Ray Davis was stuffed for no gain to give the ball back to Tennessee in good field position.

The Vols were within striking distance of the end zone after the defensive stand, but a holding penalty on third down pushed them back and Tennessee settled for a 44-yard Charles Campbell field goal to extend its lead to 10-0.

Kentucky turned to its passing game on its second third drive, getting past the 50-yard line for the first time as Devin Leary tossed for more than 50 yards to get the Wildcats to the Tennessee 10, but were held there. Alex Raynor connected on a 28-yard field goal to get on the board, 10-3 to start the second quarter.

Tennessee reached plus territory in response but stalled out, aided again by a procedure penalty but Campbell stayed perfect with a 44-yard field goal to go up 13-3.

Kentucky marched 75 yards in seven plays, cutting into Tennessee's lead with an 11-yard Leary touchdown pass to Barion Brown in the corner of the end zone to pull within 13-10.

Joe Milton III answered quickly. He set Tennessee up with a 19-yard run to the 44 then hit Chas Nimrod 39 yards downfield for a touchdown a few plays later to again provide the Vols with a 10-point cushion at 20-10 with less than seven minutes left in the half.

Defensively, Tennessee struggled to maintain its advantage. Leary carved up the Vols' secondary and running back Ray Davis followed up his best run of the first half with a 7-yard touchdown rush to make it 20-17 just before halftime.

Tennessee got the ball back with just over a minute to go in the first half but faced third-and-long. Milton rolled out and completed a pass to Ramel Keyton along the sideline to extend the drive, which ended in Campbell's third field goal, this from 34 yards out to give the Vols a 23-17 lead at the intermission.

Leary continued to have his way throwing the ball on Kentucky's opening drive of the second half but Omarr Norman-Lott recorded Tennessee's first sack of the game, tracking Leary down for a loss of a 11 yards. The Wildcats made up for enough of the lost yardage to go for it on fourth down but Tamarion McDonald batted away a pass for another turnover on downs.

The defensive stand resulted in points as Campbell's fourth field goal attempt hit off the upright but fell through to swell Tennessee's lead to 26-17.

Kentucky answered, capping its scoring drive with Leary's 7-yard touchdown pass to Dane Key to make it a one possession game with less than three minutes left in the third.

Raynor attempted a 53-yard field goal for the lead in the fourth but his kick missed left to keep Tennessee in front with under 11 minutes to go and the Vols put together an extensive drive that ate up clock and concluded with a Dylan Sampson touchdown run.

Raynor made up with his earlier miss with a 28-yard field goal to keep Kentucky within a touchdown at the 4:24 mark but Tennessee iced the game on a Milton third down run that picked up the first and allowed the Vols run the clock down.

Tennessee had success in the first half against Alabama with its downfield passing game and found more against Kentucky. Milton's 39-yard pass to Nimrod added to the Vols' lead and marked the first career touchdown for the redshirt freshman receiver.

Kentucky had the momentum with its touchdown late in the second quarter and would have gotten the ball back with plenty of time to add more points with Tennessee facing third down. Keyton's toe-tapping catch, which was upheld by replay, kept the Vols on the field for a drive that ended in a lead-extending field goal.

In a game that went back-and-forth, limiting scoring possessions were paramount and Norman-Lott's sack of Leary early in the third ended what was a promising Kentucky drive and kept the Wildcats off the board.

Wright continues to headline Tennessee's offense. After being held below his average last week vs. Alabama, Wright led the Vols in rushing and picked up his second touchdown of the season in the first quarter.

Wright wasn't solely responsible for Tennessee's success on the ground. Sampson made some critical runs in the second half, particularly late in the game that kept the Vols' offense on the field and the clock rolling.

Though Tennessee has struggled paying off drives with touchdowns, Campbell remains an asset for the Vols on special teams. He was 4-of-4 on field goals that helped Tennessee maintain its lead.

Milton was efficient, completing 75% of his passes and adding to Tennessee's strong run game with his own legs. He accounted for 25 yards on the ground, including the run on the Vols' final drive that went for a first down and all but put the game away.

After a two-game road stretch, Tennessee will return to Neyland Stadium next Saturday for a non-conference match up against UConn.

The Huskies (1-7) will enter the game off of a 21-14 loss at Boston College on Saturday.

Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. ET on SEC Network.

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