Flashback: Kentucky vs. Tennessee

by:Stuart Hammer11/28/13

StuartHammerKSR

flashback-ut Ah, yes. Tennessee. Our lovely god-awful neighbors to the south. The Volunteers, decked out in their Creamsicle® prison inmate orange cheering on the team, while packing the house at Neyland stadium the garbage truck worker convention. What’s not to love? In the time since the failed Derek Dooley experiment, Butch Jones has turned UT into a formidable foe sooner than most anticipated. And while the 4-7 record isn’t menacing to many foes around the country, it certainly offers plenty of challenge to our challenged Wildcats. LAST MATCHUP The more things change the more they stay the same. In terms of team record, the 2012 season is identical to this one. Tennessee had four wins and was out of bowl contention, and the Cats had just two wins on the season and were doing nothing more than playing for pride. Both teams were trying to avoid going winless in the SEC and both teams were already in the process of finding a new head coach. The game started well for both squads, with sustained opening touchdown drives for each. Tennessee marched 80 yards on 8 plays on the first possession of the game, and Kentucky answered with a 75-yard, 11-play drive to tie it up just seven minutes into the ballgame. The Cats would punt on the next three possessions, moving the ball a total of 23 yards on 10 plays. Meanwhile the Vols scored twice more to go up 20-7. But the Cats answered on the next try early in the 2nd quarter. Jalen Whitlow completed a few short passes to Demarco Robinson and La’Rod King before Jonathan George broke loose for a 45-yard touchdown run, pulling the Cats back to a one-possession game. But that’s all the good news… Kentucky turned the ball over on its next possession, and missed a field goal the time after that. Then a punt, another punt, and back-to-back turnovers in the 4th quarter to seal the deal. Despite collecting 412 yards of offense, converting 10-of-21 third-downs and 23 first-downs total, only committing three penalties, not turning the ball over, and winning the time of possession battle, the Wildcats found a way to lose by 20. Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray tossed four touchdowns and the Joker Phillips era was finally over. SERIES OVERVIEW The history in this rivalry is great, having played 108 times since 1983, this is one of the oldest rivalries in college football. In the beginning the series remained close with the Cats winning the first ever game 56-0. Before the teams began their yearly meetings in 1919, the Wildcats led the series in the first 14 games by a 7-5-2 mark. The rest, of course, is history. “The streak,” as it became known, began in 1985 after a period of success for the Cats in the 1950s, and ran all the way to 2011. Twenty six straight losses. Need I say more? BIGGEST MOMENT FOR UK Naturally, the end of that streak must be the greatest moment for the program — at least in the modern era. That was, of course, the shining moment of the Joker Era at Kentucky. In a story line you absolutely cannot make up, the Wildcats sent wide receiver Matt Roark out to play quarterback with injured Max Smith and Morgan Newton watching from the bench. The Cats relied heavily on the running game, obviously, as Roark isn’t exactly known for his cannon. Just 217 yards of offense is all it took to win the low-scoring pitcher’s duel. Roark ran 24 times for 124 yards and tailback CoShik Williams added 21 attempts for 68 yards and the lone touchdown early in the 4th quarter to give the Cats a 10-0 lead and feeling the victory. Roark became the stuff of legends for his improbable poise and will to lead the team to victory. And for a brief moment, all of Big Blue Nation was proud and happy to have Joker Phillips as its head coach. @StuartHammerKSR

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2024-03-28