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Tennessee football: No. 3 Vols looked scary – figuratively and literally – in another top-25 win

Ethan Stone

By Ethan Stone

Published:

In times like this it’s best to remember a lesson from Coach Prime: “If you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you play good. And if you play good … they pay good.”

It was not by mistake that Tennessee broke out its brand new all-black jerseys with orange accents 2 days before Halloween. Tennessee looked great and played great in front of an appropriately-dressed Halloween crowd.

A few Vols players made themselves a lot of money Saturday night, too. Take Jalin Hyatt for example, who should now be the clear favorite for the Biletnikoff Award. He has 11 touchdowns in October and just set the Tennessee record for most TD receptions in a single season. With at least 5 games remaining.

Hyatt has developed an uncanny ability to get himself wide open. Guarding him seems like a nightmare for opposing opponents, as both of his touchdowns in Tennessee’s 44-6 defeat of Kentucky came essentially without a shred of coverage.

Here’s the one that broke the single-season touchdown record. Kentucky had a linebacker covering one of the fastest players in the nation.

Tennessee’s dominant win against No. 19 Kentucky was a warning to the rest of college football. For one, the Vols’ offense is still as terrifying as ever with Hyatt receiving passes from Hendon Hooker, a Heisman Trophy frontrunner. They have been posting 40-plus points all season so that was no surprise. If they can build on what was a fantastic defensive performance and truly develop that unit into a force, watch out.

Tennessee had several players produce the game of their lives Saturday. There was not a soul in that locker room looking ahead to Georgia next week.

“Suffocating” was the word of the night for head coach Josh Heupel.

Doneiko Slaughter, Wesley Walker, Juwan Mitchell and Da’Jon Terry had especially strong games against the Wildcats and saw their stock rise.

For starters, Slaughter had the play of the game at an appropriate time. He drilled Kentucky wide receiver Dane Key to cause a deflection that landed in the hands of Mitchell.

This hit was probably the defensive play of the year for the Vols. Come for the interception, stay for Walker’s insane hustle to throw a leading block at the end of the play.

Slaughter likes hitting people. He said so postgame. And with a name like Doneiko Slaughter, it figures that he likes hitting people.

He put the cherry on top of his career night with an interception of Will Levis 1-on-1 against one of Kentucky’s top receivers. Not bad for a guy that’s doesn’t like playing out wide.

Walker was another Vols defensive back who stepped up big. He was especially effective disrupting horizontal routes, brushing past blockers to make a few big plays in the open field. Walker had a team-high 3 tackles for loss on the evening.

Terry, all 6-foot-4, 321 pounds of him, was a force in the middle of the field when he was used. He blocked the first and only PAT of the game for the Wildcats and later sacked Levis. He’s becoming a player the Vols and defensive line coach Rodney Garner can rely on as November approaches.

Saturday’s game was a reaffirming one for the Vols. Tennessee now has beaten 3 very good football teams with 2 more good wins against Pitt and Florida. Kentucky’s previous scoring low this season was 22 points against Ole Miss. The Vols’ offense has been here for some time, but if Tennessee plays half as well as it did on defense Saturday night?

One game at a time. And the next one is a big one.

Tennessee travels to Athens, Ga., to face the No. 1 team in the country on Saturday.

Ethan Stone

Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.

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