WATCH: Tennessee opens game with 75-yard touchdown on first play
The Tennessee Volunteers scored a 75-yard touchdown pass on the very first play of the game, taking a quick 7-0 lead against Kentucky. Quarterback Hendon Hooker found JaVonta Payton on a screen pass to the outside that Payton broke for the length of the field on the first play of the game.
Tennessee scores touchdown on first play
Opening the game with a bang, Tennessee ran a wide receiver screen pass on the first play from scrimmage to Payton. After faking a handoff, Hooker put the ball in Payton’s hands and with some good blocking in front of him he sprinted past the entire defense to begin the game.
Kentucky responded on their first drive of the game with significantly more plays, using 14 plays to drive 75 yards of their own for a touchdown to tie the game. Tennessee wasted no time striking back again, as Hooker completed another monster touchdown pass to give Tennessee the 14-7 lead as the first quarter expired. Tennessee led despite only possessing the football for 37 seconds of the entire quarter.
Tennessee’s offense is one of the most high-powered and quickest in the nation, as they average over 37 points per game. The Volunteer’s speed at which they get back to the line of scrimmage and run plays has built them a reputation as difficult to defend.
After blowing out Missouri and South Carolina, the Volunteers have had a rough set of losses to Ole Miss and Alabama. They enter the game against No. 18 Kentucky with a 4-4 record and their eyes on the upset.
Nick Saban on defending Tennessee
“I think that they go fast, so people have to get lined up and be ready to play,” Saban said of what troubles him when facing Tennessee’s offense. “I think they’ve got a really good runner. And I think their quarterback’s ability to run contributes to that.”
Alabama did not struggle much as they defeated Tennessee last week, as they held the Volunteers to their lowest scoring game of the season in a 52-24 win.
“In terms of quarterback run — so when they run the zone play he’s very capable if you try to cheat the end on the dive, [the] quarterback’s gonna pull the ball. They’ve been very effective at doing that and they’re very well coached so they don’t usually do it and make bad plays. They usually do it and make very positive plays. They’ve got quarterback runs, they’ve got quarterback draws — they get you spread out and run those plays which is very challenging for the people up front.
“And they’ve got ability to throw the ball so you can’t just say we’re going to play the quarterback runs because they’ve made a lot of explosive plays in the passing game because [of] the vertical stretch of the field — and when they get you spread out, they’ll spit it out there if you don’t have enough guys out there and make positive plays as well. So this offense is very challenging.”