UK football drops 4th-straight game at No. 7 Tennessee

Posted by author November 3, 2024 Football

KNOXVILLE, Tn. (WKYT) – The Kentucky Wildcats (3-6, 1-6 SEC) dropped their fourth-straight game, falling on the road to No. 7 Tennessee (7-1, 4-1 SEC) 28-18 in Neyland Stadium Saturday night.

The Wildcats got out to a solid start and led at halftime thanks to a touchdown from Brock Vandagriff to Josh Kattus, followed by an extra point and a field goal from Alex Raynor. The Volunteers scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter, and while UK punched in a touchdown and 2-point conversion from Gavin Wimsatt to Ja’Mori Maclin in the fourth, they came up short.

The Wildcats went 4-14 on third down and 0-2 on fourth again and on their opening drive had the ball inside the 10 and again, came up scoreless.

Tennessee freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava went 28-38 for 292 yards and a touchdown in the win. He rushed for another 29 yards, while Dylan Sampson ran for 142 yards on 28 carries for two scores.

Vandagriff went 10-17 for 123 yards, one touchdown and one interception, but left the game with an injury. Wimsatt went 4-10 for 69 yards, a touchdown and an interception and carried the ball for another 20 on four attempts.

Jamon Dumas-Johnson led Kentucky’s defense with 14 tackles, including a tack, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble.

UK now has a bye week, before they welcome Murray State (1-8) to Lexington on Nov. 16. That game kicks off at 1:30 P.M. EST and will be streaming only on ESPN+.