Tennesssee Volunteers 52, Kentucky Wildcats 21: Volunteers Take Care of Business

The Tennessee Volunteers visited Lexington on Saturday, and defeated the Kentucky Wildcats, 52-21. It really wasn't even that close. On Halloween night, UK jumped out to a 7-0 lead on the back of a defensive touchdown, but that was as much Great Pumpkin magic as the Wildcats could muster.

Tennessee did what it wanted in this game. UK's defense was uncharacteristically average against the run, but continued its two-game streak of poor execution against third downs. To build on that, Tennessee had two, count 'em two, special team touchdowns against the hapless Wildcats. Thanks to Evan Berry and Cameron Sutton this game was never in doubt.

This game was so out-of-hand early that it's unfair to draw conclusions about Tennessee. Joshua Dobbs was 16-of-26 for 233 yards, but Jalen Hurd only had 61 yards on 18 carries. Hurd and Dobbs both displayed they were capable of more last week versus Alabama, but tonight they seemed perfunctory. The offensive line is still an issue, as well as wider injuries, but that didn't keep Tennessee from being an obvious favorite over an inconsistent Kentucky team.

Looking ahead, a 4-4 Kentucky team travels to Georgia, hosts Charlotte, travels to Vanderbilt, and finally hosts rival Louisville. Charlotte seems like the only sure win in that bunch. The 4-4 Tennessee team, on the other hand, plays the other three worst teams in the SEC East. The schedule sets up nicely for the Vols to finish the season with four straight wins.