Welcome to Hell: Reliving Kentucky's Most Painful Losses in Lexington to Tennessee

Tennessee is nightmare fuel for Kentucky football fans. Many people reading this have only seen three Wildcat wins in this border rivalry. It’s not just that the team with the Orange T helmets wins; they have a knack for ripping a victory away from the Wildcats in the most heartbreaking fashion. Here are the most traumatizing moments that taught folks around the Commonwealth to hate Tennessee.

1987: Higgs Stuffed at the Goal Line

The infamous streak wasn’t really even a streak. Kentucky had lost two straight entering the season finale, and trailed 24-20 in the fourth quarter. The Cats marched down the field to get a first-and-goal on the 5-yard line.

Kentucky put the ball in the hands of Mark Higgs. It made sense. He set the single-season rushing record with 1,278. On first down, he gained three yards on a pitch. That’s when Jerry Claiborne decided to run behind Dermontti Dawson. It went nowhere on second down. On third down, Higgs tried to leap over the line of scrimmage, but was stopped inches short of the goal line. On fourth down, he didn’t even get a chance to lift-off.

Higgs told the Herald-Leader in 2020 that he still has nightmares from that sequence. “Oh, man, we’re running the same play every time. I’m like, ‘Hey, run the sweep or something, change it up, do something different.’ It was messed up. The whole defense knew (what UK would run). … That was a bad way to go out.”

2001: Kentucky Blows a 21-Point Lead

Jared Lorenzen and the 2-win Kentucky Wildcats blitzed the sixth-ranked Vols. Kentucky built up a 21-0 lead at home, yet this jaded fanbase feared the inevitable (and rightfully so).

Donte Stallworth caught a 59-yard pass to make it a two-score game by halftime. The Vols got another explosive touchdown on a 48-yard play from Casey Clausen to Kelley Washington. The game was tied before the end of the third quarter.

Despite it all, the Cats showed plenty of fight. Kentucky retook the lead on a Derek Abney touchdown. Tennessee responded with two more 20+ yard touchdowns to Stallworth. The Cats had one more big play up their sleeve. Anthony Kelly caught a 62-yard touchdown with 3:53 to play.

Despite Lorenzen’s 406 yards and four touchdowns, the Vols left with a win. After Tennessee kicked a go-ahead field goal, Kentucky needed a 2-minute drive to win. “We really thought we had the game won,” Lorenzen said afterwards. Unfortunately, Kentucky fumbled the ball and the game away.

2007: Blocked Kick in Overtime

The 2007 season was magical. It started with a win over Louisville that sent the Top 10 Cards spiraling. A few weeks later, Kentucky knocked off No. 1 LSU, bringing College GameDay to town. That’s when the injuries started piling up.

In the final game of the regular season, Kentucky had a chance to deliver one more magical win to get to eight and prevent Tennessee from playing in the SEC Championship Game.

The Wildcats trailed 31-14 with a minute left in the third quarter, but this team believed. Kentucky scored 17 unanswered, including a kick with zeroes on the clock, to force overtime. The Cats got a stop in the second overtime. All they needed was a 35-yard field goal from Lones Sieber to snap the streak. The kick was in the end zone where I was standing in the front row, waiting to rush the field. The kick was blocked. Tennessee won 52-50 in the fourth overtime. Hell. That is hell.

2009: Kentucky Takes the Ball Out of Cobb’s Hands

The next time Tennessee came to Lexington, it felt like destiny. This was the team that was going to take down the Vols. Randall Cobb grew up in the shadow of Neyland Stadium. If anybody could do it, it was Cobb. If you needed another reason to believe, Sam Maxwell had a pick-six on the opening possession.

Despite the stars seemingly aligning, Kentucky trailed by three and had to punt the ball away with three minutes remaining. That’s when the defense made some more magic, forcing a fumble in Kentucky territory. The Wildcats needed only about 35 yards to get into the end zone and win the game.

On the first snap, Cobb ran it to just outside of the red zone. The Cats ran Cobb out of the Wildcat on every snap until they got to the 10, then he didn’t touch it again. Kentucky settled for a field goal to force overtime.

Sieber’s 48-yarder was short in overtime. Despite a holding penalty on the first snap, three players later the Vols were running into the end zone.

2019: Lynn Bowden Stopped Short

Lynn Bowden was nearly unbeatable as the Wildcats’ quarterback, but Tennessee. Daniel Bituli had 19 tackles, including the last one in the game.

Trailing 17-13, Kentucky had the ball on first and goal with just over two minutes to play. Chris Rodriguez was stonewalled at the 1-yard line on third down. Kentucky called an option on the final snap. Bowden kept the ball, but couldn’t get the corner. Ballgame.

2021: Alontae Taylor Made his Shot

Ahead of the game at Kroger Field, Alontae Taylor gave Kentucky some bulletin board material.

“It means a lot. One thing I (learned when) I came in was you don’t lose to Kentucky,” said Taylor. “We didn’t have that happen last year. … This game is personal.”

Even though Kentucky was the ranked team and the favorite, it was Taylor’s pick-six in the third quarter that ultimately was the difference in the shoot-out. The Cats had one final chance to retake the lead. A facemask was missed on a Will Levis sack. Mark Stoops went ballistic on the sideline, drawing a 15-yard penalty. Kentucky still converted a 4th and 24 to keep the drive alive, but they did not complete another pass in the 45-42 loss.