Flights Continue Home Kentucky Masters, # 12 with a win 24-7 | Sports News

By STEVE MEGARGEE, AP Sports writer

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Jarrett Guarantano threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Marquez Callaway in the final game of the first half and Darrell Taylor recorded four sacks while Tennessee beat Kentucky No. 12 24-7 Saturday.

Taylor also forced and recovered a fumble to help Tennessee (5-5, 2-4 SEC) beat Kentucky (7-3, 5-3, 11th CFP) at Neyland Stadium for a 17th straight time. Kentucky has not won a road victory in this annual series since its 17-12 triumph in 1984.

Tennessee have won 32 of the last 34 games in the overall standings, although the Wildcats won last year's game 29-26 in Kentucky.

"One thing we want to do in the future as a program, is wanting to be able to finish a season and play our best ball in the end," said Tennesse coach Jeremy Pruitt. "We are 2-0 in November – it's a good thing."

The volunteers opened the game by scoring two touchdowns in the final three minutes of the second quarter.

After Tim Jordan's three yards gave Tennessee a 10-0 lead at 2:56 at half-time, the Vols forced a punt and recovered the ball on their own 28-yard starting line. a minute left.

Tennessee initially appeared to want to return to the clock, but the Vols requested a timeout after Ty Chandler's 14-yard deferral with 13 seconds left. Guarantano completed 17 yards with Callaway, moving Tennessee to 39 Kentucky with 6 seconds to go.

Rather than trying a short and quick pass to set up a long-term field placement effort, Guarantano launched in-depth. Callaway was in front of a crowd in the right side of the end zone when he picked up the ball to give Tennessee a 17-0 advantage.

"We were a bit out of goal, so we shot in the end zone," Pruitt said. "I thought Jarrett did a good job of avoiding a bit of rush there, got into the pocket and made a good pitch to give us a chance, and Marquez went to get it."

Guarantano scored 12 of 20 goals for 197 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown pass to Dominick Wood-Anderson who extended the Tennessee advantage to 24-0 in the third quarter. This lead proved insurmountable against a discouraged Kentucky team.

Kentucky's hopes of playing its first game with the SEC championship disappeared with a 34-17 loss last week against No. 5 Georgia (CFP No. 5), but the Wildcats were still in a position to win the title. New Year's bowl they had won. their last three games of the regular season.

Instead, the Wildcats went out flat and now have to settle for a less prestigious bowl. Tennessee are one win away from World Cup qualifiers in coach Jeremy Pruitt's first season after a winless win in the SEC last year.

"It 's not a very good effort," said Kentucky coach Mark Stoops. "It really starts with me, I did not prepare the team, it's not a pretty good job on my own, I have to accept that responsibility, we have to go back to work and do it. some things differently. "

Kentucky's only points were Terry Wilson's 19-yard touchdown pass to Conrad with 1:56 remaining in the third quarter. Chance Poore missed a 51-yard pitch in the second quarter and blocked a 30-yard half by Shy Tuttle in the fourth.

Kentucky: The Wildcats have relied on Snell 's racing ability and the tenacity of their defense all year long, but it seems that both are used at the end of the season. Snell, who entered the league on Saturday as a SEC leader, had 81 yards in 20 races, but was kept under 100 yards for a third consecutive game. He also had six catches for 25 yards. Kentucky is engaged in the game against Georgia allowing no opponent to exceed 20 points scored throughout the season. Now the Wildcats have lost at least 24 points in the weeks that followed.

Tennessee: The return of safety Micah Abernathy and running back Ty Chandler made all the difference for the Flights. Abernathy came back after missing four games because of an ankle injury and helped strengthen the Tennessee defense improvement. Injured by his injuries, Chandler was limited to two races last week, but he ran 16 times for 89 yards on Saturday and rejuvenated the attack launched by Tennessee. After running for just 20 yards on 26 runs in a 14-3 win over Charlotte last week, Tennessee ran 40 times for 215 yards against Kentucky.

Kentucky hosts Middle Tennessee.

Tennessee is home to Missouri.

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