KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Seventh-seeded Tennessee outscored visiting Kentucky by 17 points in the final 35 minutes Saturday night at sold-out Neyland Stadium, giving the 101,915 fans in attendance a 28-18 triumph.

The Volunteers (7-1, 4-1 SEC) scored 21 of the game's 29 points in the second half, on their way to defeating the Wildcats (3-6, 1-6 SEC) for the fourth time in as many tries to defeat head coach Josh Heupel.

A resilient Tennessee forced three turnovers, two of which led to second-half touchdowns, helping the team to a second-half comeback win for the third straight year.

Junior runs back Dylan Sampson In total, he had a career-high 27 carries and achieved a best rushing performance of 142 yards. He also scored two rushing touchdowns, giving him a school record 19 this season. Redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava Made 28 of 38 shots through the air and set career highs in attempts and completions. He threw for 292 yards, his second-most as a college player, and one touchdown.

On the first drive, the Tennessee defense managed a fourth-down stop at its own five-yard line to keep the Wildcats off the field. However, after a missed 43-yard field goal, the Volunteers allowed a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that culminated with a 27-yard pass from Brock Vandagriff to Josh Kattus with 5:28 on the timer.

Neither team scored for the remainder of the session as the teams switched sides and the Wildcats held a 7-0 lead. However, Tennessee made another big defensive play at defensive back late in the game André TurrentineWith 1:28 left, he caught a deflected pass for his first interception of the season and the first of his career against an SEC opponent.

The Volunteers tied the score on their fourth play inside the 25-yard line with 4:45 left in the first half. Run back Peyton Lewis He hit paydirt for the first time as a college student, capping a 14-play, 65-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown carry. The Wildcats responded with a 10-play, 61-yard drive to regain the lead on a 32-yard field goal by Alex Raynor with 30 seconds left in the half.

Despite the narrow deficit, Tennessee outscored Kentucky 254-196 in the first 30 minutes, holding the visitors to 2 of 7 on third down and also stopping the Wildcat's only attempt at a fourth down.

The Tennessee defense made another game-changing play at defensive lineman on its first series of the second half Joshua Josephs Vandagriff drilled to force a fumble that hit the linebacker Jeremiah Telander recovered at the Kentucky 28-yard line with 10:05 left in the third quarter. The turnover led to a five-play scoring drive that lasted just 97 seconds and ended with a seven-yard rushing touchdown by Sampson. The junior from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, made the score the first Volunteer ever to score a rushing touchdown in eight straight games in a single season.

Defensive back Will Brooks Late in the third quarter, Tennessee scored its third win of the contest, this time with the Wildcats at the Vols' 24-yard line. The redshirt senior skipped Gavin Wimsatt's first pass of the game and returned it 67 yards to the Kentucky 10-yard line with just 1:01 left in the final session. Two plays and 28 seconds later tight end Miles Kitselman caught a six-yard shot from Iamaleava to give Tennessee a 21-10 lead.

Kentucky countered with a six-play, 75-yard drive in just 2:02, with Ja'Mori Maclin catching a 32-yard pass from Wimsatt to end the game. The Wildcats then converted a two-point conversion to pull within three points, 21-18, with 13:31 left.

After punts from both teams, Tennessee used a 13-play, 91-yard drive to regain a double-digit lead at 28:18 with 4:55 minutes to play. The drive ended with a six-yard carry by Sampson, his 19th rushing touchdown of 2024, breaking the school record of 18 yards set by Gene McEver in a single season in 1929. He was also tied with Joshua Dobbs (2013-16). third in the career rankings with 32.

The Volunteers forced a turnover on downs on Kentucky's next drive, effectively tying the game with 2:19 left. Linebackers Arion Carter (10) and Jalen Smith (nine) each set career-highs in tackles to pace the Tennessee defense, which collected seven quarterback hurries and allowed just 11 points in the final 50 minutes.

Additionally, the Vols held Kentucky to just 14 of 27 passes for 192 yards while registering two interceptions. The Wildcats finished the game 4 of 14 on third down and 0 of 2 on fourth down.

On offense, nine Tennessee players caught a pass in the game and seven recorded multiple grabs. Kitselman, the only one receiving the ball, led the team with six catches for 97 yards, both career highs.

The Vols, who improved to 5-1 all-time in black uniforms, totaled 476 yards, 292 through the air and 184 on the ground, their highest total in SEC games this season and the fourth time they have 450 on the year exceeded in 2024. They had 29 first downs and only 19 goals against.

NEXT
Tennessee returns to action against Mississippi State in the SEC home finale and the last of four straight games at Neyland Stadium on Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. The competition will be televised on ESPN.