LEXINGTON, Ky. — Chris Brazzell II strutted across the middle of the end zone early in the first quarter. And that was the first of a combined 13 touchdowns for the night.
Tennessee and Kentucky engaged in an early shootout late Saturday night at Kroger Field. It eventually became the Vols pulling away with a 56-34 win over the struggling Wildcats in the second half.
Joey Aguilar put forth his best showing at Tennessee (6-2, 3-2 SEC), stretching the field with 396 yards on 20-for-26 passing. He spread the wealth to the leading trio of receivers — Chris Brazzell II (138), Mike Matthews (107) and Braylon Staley (105) — each breaking the century mark.
Kentucky, meanwhile, had a field day against the Vols’ defense. The Wildcats (2-5, 0-5 SEC) posted 476 yards of offense, keeping up everywhere but the scoreboard.
Explosive gunslingers
Tennessee opened the game without fear of testing the field vertically.
The opening drive lasted four plays, with three passes — tallying 49 yards and a gift of 15 more on a penalty. Aguilar hooked up with Brazzell for a 35-yard score to cap a 1:19-minute scoring drive.
Aguilar and Brazzell hooked up again later in the quarter, unloading on a 47-yard completion down the sideline where the quarterback dropped it right in the bucket of his receiver.
Kentucky answered with much of the same. Cutter Boley guided the Wildcats to their first score by dumping a ball off to Kendrick Law, who turned on the burners down the sideline for a 71-yard catch-and-run score. Early in the second quarter, Boley hooked up with DJ Miller for a 56-yard score, burning Boo Carter off the line.
Aguilar concluded the half with a methodical drive, capping it with a 13-yard layered pass to Ethan Davis in the back of the end zone. He guided Tennessee to a 10-play, 75-yard drive in 1:32 to take a two-score lead to the break.
It put Tennessee at 239 yards through 40 minutes, while Kentucky paced the way with 281 yards.
And it continued on the Vols’ first drive of the second half. Aguilar unloaded for a 62-yard bomb to Mike Matthews, making it his fifth passing touchdown of 50-plus yards this season. It was his first since the third quarter against Georgia.
Boley kept it going in the closing minute of the third quarter, throwing up a 28-yard touchdown pass to Miller to cut the deficit to three scores.
The quarterbacks dueled it out for a total of 726 yards passing.
Turnover chaos
The Vols benefited from winning the turnover battle. It did so with a two-turnover first quarter — one of which ended in a score.
Edrees Farooq did all the work himself in the first quarter when Boley dropped back to pass. He read the eyes, jumped in the air, batted it high and tracked the ball for a pick. Farooq had green grass in front of him and strutted 45 yards to the end zone.
Craziness ensued the next time Tennessee recorded a takeaway. What seemed to be a simple completion across the middle of the field, Hardley Gilmore IV got too fancy with it. Colton Hood forced an initial fumble, but multiple players kicked the ball 15 yards in the opposite direction when Ja’Mori Maclin scooped it up. Then, Carter came flying in to force another fumble — eventually scooped by Jadon Perlotte at the 12-yard line with an additional personal foul tacked on more yardage to give Tennessee prime positioning inside the Kentucky 10-yard line.
Both turnovers resulted in scores — a novel sight for earlier shortcomings this season. Tennessee’s two first-quarter turnovers were the most in the opening frame this year, and tied with third-quarter efforts against UAB and Arkansas in any quarter for the calendar year.
Bend defense broken
Tennessee’s theatrical performance in the end zone hides the defensive ugliness.
The Vols allowed redshirt freshman quarterback Boley to go for a career night with 330 yards and five touchdowns. He became the first Wildcats quarterback since 2006 to record three passing touchdowns in the first half of an SEC game. He also became the first Kentucky quarterback since Andre’ Woodson to throw for five touchdowns, who also did it against Tennessee in a 2007 four-overtime game.
Boley added to it as the first freshman quarterback in school history to throw for four touchdown passes in a game.
Kentucky recorded 11 explosive plays, totaling four rushes of 10-plus yards and seven passes of 15-plus yards. Kendrick Law put together 103 yards on two catches, clearing the way for a career high. His best statistical season in three years at Alabama was 135 yards, and he nearly surpassed that in a single game against Tennessee’s defense.
Tennessee will return home after a two-week hiatus to host a ranked Oklahoma team coming off a tough home loss. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET in Neyland Stadium.
