Tennessee football went dark Saturday night at Neyland Stadium. And Kentucky slowly faded away after a promising start.
But don't get the wrong idea. Donning an all-black uniform didn't make the UT offense look any better in a 28-18 victory over injury-depleted Kentucky.
The No. 7 Vols trudged a step closer to the College Football Playoff with their seventh victory in eight games. Anyone watching who concluded "that looks like a playoff team," must have been hallucinating.
If you prefer to look on the bright side, you could laud the Vols for winning ugly. That's nothing new.
They won three of their four previous SEC games without scoring more than 25 points and only managed 14 points in a five-point loss to Arkansas. Things have been going so badly offensively, UT coach Josh Heupel might be asked to turn in his offensive guru's card.
The play calls weren't as bad as the execution against Kentucky, which entered the game on a three-game losing streak and without five injured defensive starters. Tennessee's offensive mistakes piled up quickly against the thin Kentucky defense, which lost two more defensive starters to injury during the game.
Wide receiver Chris Brazzell dropped a perfectly thrown pass from quarterback Nico Iamaleava for what should have been a 49-yard touchdown. Tight end Miles Kitselman lost another touchdown reception when he failed to hold the football as he was hit crossing the goal line by safety Jordan Lovett. And usually reliable placekicker Max Gilbert missed three consecutive field goals.
Despite Tennessee's sluggish offensive start, the Neyland Stadium crowd could take solace from history. The Vols had won 36 of the previous 39 games against Kentucky in one of the SEC's most lopsided rivalries.
UT has even won a few times against the Wildcats when it didn't have the best team. It just stood by while the Wildcats self-destructed.
So, when Kentucky drove for a touchdown on its second possession, there was no cause for Tennessee alarm. Even when Kentucky's offense has been healthy - and it wasn't close to healthy for this game - points have been hard to come by
That early score could have been characterized as an aberration for a team that had averaged a mere 13.7 points in its first six SEC games. Nonetheless, the Wildcats managed a three-point halftime lead when Alex Raynor tacked on a 32-yard field goal in the final seconds.
Another first-half mishap worth noting: Heupel benched Dylan Sampson after the star running back fumbled the ball over to Kentucky. On a team short of playmakers, that was a poor time to send a message to the SEC's top running back.
It all worked out, though. Not only did the Vols prevail, Iamaleava delivered his best SEC performance. He completed 15 of 20 first-half passes for 180 yards and would have had a pair of TD passes if not for the end-zone drops. He finished the game 28-for-38 for 292 yards.
The game turned midway through the third quarter when Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandagriff fumbled, and UT recovered at the Wildcats 28-yard line. A few plays later, Sampson gave the Vols a 14-10 lead with a 7-yard touchdown run.
What happened next shouldn't have surprised anyone who has followed the Tennessee-Kentucky series or knows how dominant UT's defense can be. Vandagriff joined the long list of opposing quarterbacks who couldn't finish what they started against Tennessee. After he was injured late in the third quarter, backup Gavin Wimsatt set up UT's third touchdown by throwing the ball to safety Will Brooks.
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Strangely, Kentucky didn't collapse. It drove 75 yards for a touchdown and added a two-point conversion.
But the Vols responded with another TD against a tiring Kentucky defense and took a shaky step toward the playoffs.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or [email protected]. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.