Tennessee moves one step closer to the College Football Playoff

Tennessee football turned grim Saturday night at Neyland Stadium. And Kentucky slowly faded after a promising start.

But don't get me wrong. Donning an all-black uniform didn't make the UT offense look any better in a 28-18 win over injury-depleted Kentucky.

With their seventh win in eight games, the No. 7 Vols one step closer to the College Football Playoff. Anyone who watched and concluded, “This looks like a playoff team,” must have been hallucinating.

If you prefer to look on the bright side, you could praise the Vols for winning ugly. This is nothing new.

They won three of their four previous SEC games without scoring more than 25 points and managed just 14 points in a five-point loss to Arkansas. Things were so bad offensively that UT coach Josh Heupel might be asked to hand over his offensive guru's card.

The playcalling wasn't as bad as the execution against Kentucky, which entered the game on a three-game losing streak and without five defensive starters injured. Tennessee's offensive errors quickly piled up against a thin Kentucky defense, which lost two more defensive starters to injuries during the game.

Wide receiver Chris Brazzell dropped a perfectly thrown pass from quarterback Nico Iamaleava for a 49-yard touchdown. Tight end Miles Kitselman lost another touchdown reception when he couldn't hold onto the football when he was hit by safety Jordan Lovett while crossing the goal line. And normally reliable placekicker Max Gilbert missed three field goals in a row.

Despite Tennessee's sluggish offensive start, the crowd at Neyland Stadium took comfort from the story. The Vols had won 36 of the previous 39 games against Kentucky in one of the SEC's most lopsided rivalries.

UT even won against the Wildcats a few times when it didn't have the best team. It just stood there while the Wildcats self-destructed.

So when Kentucky went for a touchdown on its second possession, Tennessee had no reason to worry. Even when Kentucky's offense was healthy – and in this game it wasn't anywhere near healthy – it was difficult to score points

That early result could have been called an aberration for a team that had averaged just 13.7 points in its first six SEC games. Still, the Wildcats took a three-point halftime lead when Alex Raynor hit a 32-yard field goal in the final seconds.

Another notable mishap in the first half: Heupel benched Dylan Sampson after the star running back fumbled the ball to Kentucky. For a team lacking playmakers, this was a bad time to send a message to the SEC's top running back.

But everything worked out. Not only did the Vols prevail, Iamaleava also delivered his best SEC performance. He completed 15 of 20 passes in the first half for 180 yards and would have had two touchdown passes if not for the drops in the end zone. He finished the game 28-for-38 for 292 yards.

The game turned midway through the third quarter when Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandagriff made a fumble 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 watched the Tennessee-Kentucky series or knows how dominant UT's defense can be. Vandagriff joins the long list of opposing quarterbacks who couldn't finish what they started against Tennessee. After being injured late in the third quarter, backup Gavin Wimsatt set up UT's third touchdown by throwing the ball to safety Will Brooks.

Oddly enough, 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 can be reached at 865-342-6284 or [email protected]. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.

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