| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- Travis Henry got a chance, Phillip Fulmer
got a game ball and Tennessee got back on track.
Filling in for Jamal Lewis, who sat out with a shoulder injury,
Henry ran for 179 yards and three touchdowns as seventh-ranked
Tennessee routed Kentucky 56-21 Saturday.
|  | | Tennessee's Cedric Wilson grabs a 29-yard touchdown pass from Tee Martin. |
The win kept the Volunteers (8-2, 5-2 Southeastern Conference)
in contention for one of two at-large berths in the Bowl
Championship Series and eased some of the hurt from last week's
28-24 loss at Arkansas, which knocked Tennessee out of the national
championship hunt.
"It was clear why we were here," said Fulmer, who got his 75th
career coaching win, along with a game ball from his players. "It
wasn't a social call. We were here for respect."
It was the Volunteers' 15th consecutive win in the 95-game
series between border-state rivals and the fourth straight in which
they have scored more than 50 points against the Wildcats (6-5,
4-4).
Kentucky finished the regular season eligible for a bowl
appearance, but not guaranteed an invitation. The Wildcats are
among at least eight SEC teams contending for the conference's
seven guaranteed bowl berths.
"In spite of the catastrophe today, we achieved our team
goal," Kentucky coach Hal Mumme said. "We are bowl-eligible. We
had a winning season."
Determined to erase memories of last week's loss to the
Razorbacks, when they won the statistical battle but lost on the
scoreboard, the Volunteers jumped ahead 27-0 with touchdowns on
four of their first five possessions.
After Tee Martin's 29-yard touchdown pass to Cedrick Wilson,
Henry scored on runs of 40, 61 and 13 yards.
"We wanted to come out and start fast, let our frustrations out
on the football field and show we weren't down after last week,"
said Martin, who threw for 155 yards and two touchdowns.
"Everybody thought we were coming into the game thinking about
last week, but we didn't do that."
Kentucky scored a pair of second-quarter touchdowns to close the gap to 27-14 at halftime. The Volunteer defense stiffened in the
third quarter, though, and Tennessee scored four second-half
touchdowns to put the game away.
David Martin caught a 21-yard touchdown from Tee Martin, Tee
Martin scored on a quarterback sneak and freshman running back
Onterrio Smith capped Tennessee's scoring with a pair of
fourth-quarter touchdown runs.
Kentucky quarterback Dusty Bonner completed 32 of 50 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns, but was intercepted five times.
Kentucky also lost a fumble, giving the Wildcats six turnovers
leading to four Tennessee touchdowns.
James Whalen Jr. caught one of Bonner's touchdown passes, while running back Anthony White grabbed the other two, becoming the
third player in NCAA history to finish his career with 1,500 yards
rushing and receiving.
For the Volunteers, Henry was a workhorse, handling the ball on
23 of the 24 handoffs Tennessee made before he took a seat on the
bench late in the third quarter.
His 61-yard dash shattered his previous career-long run of 40
yards and demonstrated the virtue of patience to Henry, who has
played behind Lewis this season.
"I just told myself when my opportunity comes to just grab
it," he said. "They say good things come to those who wait."
After the game, Mumme fumed about a pair of first-half pass
interference calls. The first, on cornerback Kenneth Grant, allowed
Tennessee to convert a third-and-7. On the next play, Henry broke
his 61-yard run to put the Volunteers ahead 21-0.
On Kentucky's subsequent possession, a 42-yard catch by Derek
Smith that would have set the Wildcats up on the Tennessee 1 was
nullified by an offensive pass interference call. The Wildcats
punted two plays later.
"We had a chance to go into halftime 27-20, but the call really
hurt," Mumme said. "It was a bad call. We got two bad calls
against us."
Both teams were banged up coming in. Kentucky was thin at wide receiver and in the secondary after a rash of injuries in both
units, while Fulmer was without Lewis and had to move defensive
players around to make up for the absences of starting linebacker
Eric Westmoreland and reserve defensive back Tad Golden, as well as
the limited availability of tackle Darwin Walker.
"I am really proud of our football team for bouncing back after
a tough and disappointing loss," Fulmer said. "We overcame a
bunch of injuries and adversity over the week."
| |
ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Tennessee Clubhouse
Kentucky Clubhouse
NCAA probes Tennessee on tutoring concerns
College football Top 25 overview
|
