Long Losing Streak Rolls On
On Friday night, coach Mark Pope led the Kentucky basketball team to an upset of number one-ranked Purdue. It was just an exhibition, but it gave the BBN some joy. One night later, Mark Stoops hoped to lead the football Cats to an upset over 17th-ranked Tennessee. In the process, the Cats hoped to snap an SEC home losing streak. Kentucky did some good things on the field. However, once again, they couldn’t keep up with the Vols. Let’s break it down as Tennessee Cruises Past Kentucky 56-34.
A Bad Start
If you are a Kentucky fan, the game couldn’t have begun any worse. Taking the opening kick, it took the Vols 1:19 to get on the board. Going 79 yards in four plays, Joey Aguilar found Chris Brazell II on a 39-yard strike, and it was 7-0.
The Wildcats’ first drive ended in a punt, and the second went really wrong. Cutter Boley’s pass was tipped, picked off by Edrees Farooq, who went 45 yards to the house, and UT led 14-0.
Finally Settling Down
Boley got the Cats on the board after hitting Kendrick Law in the flat. He broke a tackle and was off to the races. 71 yards later, UK was only down 14-7.
Tennessee answered right back on a one-yard run by Star Thomas to go back up by 14. On Kentucky’s next possession, they had a play that could only be considered the most UK play ever. They managed to fumble three times and have a penalty. The result: Tennessee had the ball on the Kentucky six.
How does this get recorded in the statsheet? Because Kentucky fumbled no less than 3 times on just this one play 😂 😂
pic.twitter.com/8Xyu5ulBTX— Updog Sports Talk (@UpdogSportsTalk) October 26, 2025
Four plays later, it was 28-7. From there, Boley led the Cats back-to-back scoring drives. The first on a 56-yard strike to DJ Miller, and the second was to J.J. Hester, and suddenly the Cats were down by seven.
Unfortunately, the old Stoops bugaboo, the last two minutes, got them again. With Kentucky having all the momentum and getting the ball to start the second half, the one thing you couldn’t do was let the Vols score. Guess what, UT went 75 yards in 1:32 to lead 35-21 at the intermission.
The Wildcats scored three touchdowns against a Power Four opponent for the first time since 2023, but still trailed by 14 at the half.
No Answers
Whatever momentum the Cats had was squashed in the third quarter. Following a punt, Tennessee needed 25 seconds to score on a 62-yard Aguilar strike. Kentucky’s good drive stalled at the UT 37, and Jacob Kauwe’s 55-yard field goal attempt was no good so the Cats got nothing.
A Peyton Lewis six-yard run made it 49-21. Boley found Miller again for a score, but Tennessee answered right back. The UK signal caller’s fifth touchdown pass and second to Hester cut the margin to 22. That was the end of the scoring as Tennessee cruised past Kentucky 56-34.
Looking Ahead
With the win, Josh Heupel’s club moves to 6-2 on the year and 3-2 in the conference. They’ll host Oklahoma in Knoxville next week. The Sooners lost at home to Ole Miss 35-26 on Saturday.
On the other side of the ball, Kentucky drops to 2-5 on the season and 0-5 in league play. Next week, they hit the road when they face Auburn. Hugh Freeze got a much-needed win in come-from-behind fashion over Arkansas, 33-24.
Let’s look at a few more things as we wrap things up, as Tennessee Cruises Past Kentucky 56-34.
Final Thoughts
It seems to be the norm with Kentucky football that when the offense plays well, the defense doesn’t, and vice versa. We said in our game preview that Tennessee gives up a lot of yards and points. UK ended up with 476 yards, kept the ball for nearly 2/3 of the game, and still lost big. Of course, giving up 56 points and 504 yards didn’t help.
If there was any doubt, Boley is the man at quarterback, the last two weeks should end any discussion. If we’re being honest, he should have been the starter from game one. He finished 26-35 for 330 yards and five touchdowns. Unfortunately, the one interception proved costly.
He set a record for most TD passes by a freshman in a game. In addition, his five scores were the most since Andre Woodson hit that number against Tennessee in 2007.
At the end of the day, it’s another loss for Stoops and the Wildcats. The SEC losing streak goes to 10 straight since beating Ole Miss on September 28, 2024. Furthermore UK is 2-14 in their last 16 SEC games.
With every loss, the noise around the Kentucky program and Stoops gets louder and louder. Will he be coach by the end of this season, much less next year? Of course, there’s the little matter of the 38 million he’s owed if he’s fired.
The fan base made up its mind long ago, but the final say is with Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart. It’s something to watch the rest of this season.
Thanks for checking out our recap as Tennessee Cruises Past Kentucky 56-34.
Main Image: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images
