Halftime Thoughts: Kentucky @ Tennessee
Kentucky #Kentucky
It wasn’t as quick as last year, but it was still quick.
On Tennessee’s fifth play of the game on offense, Hendon Hooker found a wide open Jalin Hyatt for a 55-yard touchdown.
After Kentucky elected to defer the opening kickoff, they found themselves trailing by seven within 90 seconds off the game clock.
Tennessee went on to score three more touchdowns in the first half and lead the SEC East foe by three scores at halftime.
Thoughts from the first 30 minutes are below.
Hyatt Explodes… Again
Much like every week now for No. 11, he found the end zone. And he did it twice in the first half for the third straight game. Hyatt scored his second touchdown on another broken coverage by Kentucky, as Hooker found him wide open down the sideline for a 31-yard score before the half.
Kentucky seemingly can’t cover Jalin Hyatt, as the Hooker-Hyatt connection is alive and well tonight in Neyland.
Slaughter, Mitchell Make Huge Play
Kentucky was threatening in Tennessee’s red zone late in the second quarter, having put together their second solid drive of the night.
However, the Vols defense arguably made their best play of the season.
UT DB Doneiko Slaughter laid a huge hit on Dane Key on a 3rd and 7 try from the Cats, and the ball went in and out of Key’s arms up in the air.
There to take advantage was Juwan Mitchell, who picked it off and returned the ball across midfield.
While the Vols’ offense couldn’t get going on the ensuing drive, Paxton Brooks’ punt after the three-handout pinned the Cats at their own two-yard line, leading the Vols to have great field position and ultimately score once more before halftime.
Vols Making a Commitment to the Running Game
Outside of Tennessee’s big pass plays from Hooker to Hyatt in the first half, the Vols did most of their damage on offense on the ground.
Jabari Small had a nice half with 52 yards on 10 carries, and Jaylen Wright had a huge run that set up a scoring drive in which he punched it in from a few yards out.
Tennessee’s complete offense could not be stopped by Kentucky in the first half, leading to their 21-point lead at the break.