3rd Quarter
15:00: Great kickoff return to start the second half. Good vision, instincts and athleticism by Evan Berry to let the blocking develop, but to keep moving at the same time. Malik Foreman, who plays somewhat of an up-back on kickoff returns does a good job getting in front of Berry to help with the blocking. A few of the blockers can’t be identified, but Ethan Wolf is one of the key blocks to get Berry upfield to set up great field position for the Vols.
14:53: That didn’t take long. Not a real accurate ball to Jason Croom, as Dobbs throws it a little front of him, but that actually causes the defensive backs to break on it as if they have a chance to intercept it. Von Pearson is able to pick one of them off with a block and the other DB somewhat overruns the play slips, allowing Croom, who shows great speed for his size on this play, to get past the defense and take it in for the quick score.
Nice block on the perimeter by Von Pearson to help spring Jason Croom on his 52-yard TD pic.twitter.com/i81XXKIOFc
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) November 17, 2014
13:18: This is the targeting call on Brian Randolph that got him ejected and thus suspended for the first-half of the Missouri game. It’s tough, there’s no denying it. Patrick Towles goes down extremely late and Randolph is already in the act of launching himself. It’s one of those situations where it’s probably the right call, but not sure what Randolph could’ve done to prevent it.
Another look at the targeting ejection on Brian Randolph https://t.co/rnfbWDgjCV
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) November 17, 2014
12:53: Speaking of the officials, they miss a late shove by Kentucky after this play ends.
Just a bit late on that shove from Kentucky https://t.co/YJI2vPtEce
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) November 17, 2014
10:29: This is what Joshua Dobbs does so well. This is a sack with any other QB on Tennessee’s roster. Dobbs makes two men miss, rolls out and hits Pig Howard for the first down.
Sack eraser https://t.co/JwQhVrWUzB
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) November 17, 2014
8:43: You can actually hear Mack Crowder scream as he gets rolled up on. It didn’t look good at all, good to hear that it’s just a sprain.
8:22: Dylan Wiesman’s first snap is a touch low, but it’s really more of a knuckleball, making Dobbs lose his grip on it and turning into somewhat of a busted play.
7:06: Great job by Maggitt, who had to fill in exclusively at defensive end with Corey Vereen banged up, getting small and low to get around the edge and get to Towles.
Curt Maggitt does a great job getting low and small to get around the edge for this sack pic.twitter.com/APevzsiVGG
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) November 17, 2014
5:14: Refs catch Kentucky with some extra curricular activity after this run by Dobbs. Dobbs loses the ball at the end, Alex Ellis jumps on it and then Kentucky’s A.J. Stamps kicks Ellis in the head while he’s lying on the ground. The refs get Kentucky for 15 yards, but that seemingly should be an ejection as well.
Think it's fair that if Randolph gets booted, so should a player who kicks somebody in the head https://t.co/vn38iyiorT
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) November 17, 2014
2:02: Don’t like this defensive call from Tennessee at all here, but Towles bails them out. Derek Barnett is in coverage on a zone blitz and ends up running with a slot receiver. That could’ve been a huge play for Kentucky. Instead, Towles throw it on Coleman and he makes him pay with the interception and the nice return into the red zone.
Towles had Derek Barnett and Justin Coleman in man coverage & somehow chose to throw on Coleman. Wrong deci… https://t.co/FJL84nh64F
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) November 17, 2014
1:08: Another nice screen play to Jalen Hurd, just like the South Carolina game. Kentucky brings a blitz, Hurd slips out, makes the catch and breaks a tackle to set the Vols up inside the 5. Hurd finishes it off the next play with a nice run and finish to just make it to the pylon.
4th Quarter:
14:54: Another sack for the Vols here. Credit Maggitt for the pressure that makes Towles step up. Chris Weatherd is there to get part of the sack and Barnett comes from behind to finish it off.
14:00: Vols start mixing in reserves on offense here: Nathan Peterman, Ryan Jenkins, Coleman Thomas, Justus Pickett among others.
11:35: Nice series by the defensive reserves here. Cortez McDowell, Jaylen Miller, LaTroy Lewis and others step up to force a Kentucky 3-and-out. Good sign for depth and the future.
10:10: Second-team offensive line: Brett Kendrick, Marques Pair, Dylan Wiesman, Thomas Edwards, Coleman Thomas.
9:01: Only one throw from Peterman on the night and it wasn’t a very good one as he sails one over Joe Stocstill’s head for what looked like it would’ve been a first down, much to Butch Jones’ dismay on the sideline.
8:44: Nice job by LaTroy Lewis and Jakob Johnson who combine for a tackle for loss.
Just a general note for the last few drive of the game: the backups executed fairly well. They were obviously playing against backups and the offense and defense was very vanilla, but really good reps and experience for those guys and you can see the athleticism upgrades, especially on defense, that the Vols have in the program.
