On Rocky Top, Kentucky found clarity at QB — then things went awry for UK anyway

On ol’ Rocky Top, Kentucky found some quarterback clarity.

One week after starter Brock Vandagriff was benched in favor of Gavin Wimsatt for the entire second half of what became a 24-10 home loss to Auburn, BVG was back in the saddle at Tennessee.

For once UK’s QB1 was playing every snap, there was no alternating with Wimsatt used as a change-of-pace quarterback. Vandagriff played well enough against a Tennessee defense that entered the contest No. 3 in the FBS in total defense, that Kentucky not only outgained UT 166-121 yards in the first quarter, the Wildcats even led the No. 7 Volunteers 10-7 at halftime.

“I thought (Vandagriff) was playing, playing well,” UK coach Mark Stoops said afterward. “Thought he was doing some really good things.”

Alas, in this slog of a UK football season, even a clear decision seems to lead to a disconcerting place.

In spite of its plan to play one and only one QB, Kentucky yet again ended up playing two quarterbacks.

The Wildcats — down 10 starters by the end of the game due to injury — played with the fight and grit that had seemed lacking in back-to-back losses at Florida and to Auburn. Nevertheless, the result was a 28-18 loss in front of a crowd of 101,915.

“Not the outcome we were looking for at all,” Stoops said, “but really do appreciate the toughness our team displayed.”

With the defeat, UK (3-6, 1-6 SEC) must win out against Murray State, at No. 6 Texas and over archrival Louisville to extend the Wildcats’ bowl streak to a ninth consecutive season.

Vandagriff’s night ended in the third quarter. On a third-and-1 play from the Kentucky 34, he UK QB dropped to pass.

He never got the chance to throw, as Vandagriff was crushed by James Pearce Jr., the Tennessee pass rushing star expected to be a 2025 NFL first-round draft pick.

The Kentucky quarterback left the field for the injury tent. As the game continued, he eventually departed the Neyland Stadium playing surface with a towel wrapped over his head.

Before his injury, Vandagriff and the UK offense played, arguably, their best quarter of the season given the quality of the competition. Vandagriff completed eight of his initial 13 passes. On the Wildcats’ first two offensive possessions, the transfer from Georgia led Kentucky on drives of 72 and 75 yards.

One of those drives ended with a failure on a fourth-and-2 pass attempt from the UT 5-yard line. The other ended with a 27-yard touchdown pass to tight end Josh Kattus.

“Ability to be able to run it and throw it there early was the key,” Stoops said.

In the second half, a familiar Kentucky bugaboo in 2024 — the lack of pass protection — came to the fore again.

On UK’s first possession after the break, rush end Joshua Josephs came clean around the right flank of the Kentucky offensive line to force a Vandagriff fumble. Middle linebacker Jeremiah Telander recovered at the UK 28.

Five plays later, Tennessee scored a touchdown to take a lead it would never relinquish.

Once Vandagriff was injured on an ensuing sack, Wimsatt entered the game. The ex-Owensboro High School star drove the Wildcats from their 45 to the Tennessee 27 on his first drive.

However, on a third-and-5, a Wimsatt pass intended for Kattus was intercepted by Will Brooks. The UT safety returned the ball to the Kentucky 11 but was run down from behind by Wimsatt and tackled.

That might have been the most athletically impressive play a Kentucky quarterback has made this season.

Afterward, Stoops said the plan was for Wimsatt to run the ball with UK planning to go for it on fourth down if necessary. The UK coach said there was a run/pass option read for Wimsatt on the play.

“I saw the (middle linebacker) blitz,” Wimsatt said of why he chose to throw. “We still have a blocker for that guy. I have to know that. Just a mistake by me that can’t happen.”

After Tennessee turned the pick into a short-field touchdown, Wimsatt returned and led an explosive UK response.

The former Rutgers starting QB took UK 75 yards in six plays. He ignited the drive with a 26-yard pass to Dane Key. Ja’Mori Maclin made a one-handed catch in the end zone to give Wimsatt his first Kentucky Wildcats touchdown pass, a 33-yard score.

When the same duo connected for a two-point conversion pass, UK was within 21-18.

Alas, Wimsatt and the Wildcats got only two drives in the fourth quarter. Both of them ended on the Kentucky side of the field.

On a night when both UK QBs did good things in a road game against an elite SEC defense, Kentucky was nevertheless undermined by three turnovers — two picks and the lost fumble — from the quarterback position.

“I think it’s unsettling,” UK offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan said of the Wildcats’ QB situation. “… We’ve got figure out some consistency at that position.”

In a season where not much has gone right for Kentucky, even the best-laid plan — to use only one quarterback — went astray.

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