LEXINGTON – Tennessee football edged Kentucky 33-27 in Lexington, Kentucky, Saturday behind a dominant outing from the running backs and a complete performance from quarterback Joe Milton III.
The Vols and Wildcats went back-and-forth all night long, with both offense’s combining for 12 scoring drives and 926 total yards.
However, once the game reached its final quarter, Tennessee was without its top running back, Jaylen Wright. Wright had bounced back from a poor performance the week prior at Alabama to rush for 120 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries against the Cats.
It’s not optimal to lose your best offensive player (Wright) ahead of a fourth quarter where you need to control the clock and keep drives alive, but Tennessee was able to still find that production thanks to Dylan Sampson.
The sophomore running back delivered when Tennessee needed it most in the fourth quarter, totaling 91 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown.
“Dynamic in the second half in particular, down the stretch,” head coach Josh Heupel said about Sampson’s performance. “Did a good job making people miss and reading the blocks and running extremely hard, running through tackles… obviously D-Samp was really special tonight. Big guys up front were really pretty solid with all the things that they were showing. They handled it.”
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Sampson got eight touches in Tennessee’s final scoring drive and also scored a touchdown. Sampson’s four big plays on the drive came on an early 2nd & 11, when he picked up the first down on a catch and run, a key 3rd & 1 conversion in which he ran for nine yards, a massive 3rd & 10 conversion when he caught a shovel pass and ran for 17 yards, and then the touchdown in which he scored from 12 yards out.
Nearly all of Sampson’s big plays in the fourth quarter featured broken tackles, too, as the 5-foot-11, 190-pounder was impossible to bring down.
“He can do that every day,” Milton III said about Sampson’s hard running. “That’s Dylan. Just a small guy that’s hard to bring down. Dylan works on everything that you could possibly see there out on the field… No matter what he’s doing, he’s trying to work on something new… He’s smart, he works hard, and he’s also a team player. So whatever he needs to do, he’s going to do it.”
After Sampson capped his big drive with a touchdown, he came back out on the field as Tennessee’s starting running back in their final drive.
Sampson was crucial in the Vols’ ability to put the game away. Tennessee began the drive up six points with four-and-a-half minutes remaining in the game, needing to put together a solid drive to bleed the clock.
Sampson saw seven touches on the drive, with the most important being a 24-yard run that got Tennessee across midfield. Three plays after Sampson’s longest run of the night, Milton picked up a key 3rd & 7 with his legs to all but put the game on ice.
Sampson delivered when the Vols needed it most, helping Tennessee beat their rival for the third consecutive season.
“It’s what we all prepare for,” Sampson said on taking advantage of his opportunity. “Never know who’s number is going to get called, especially in a deep running back room. This is what we prepare and practice for. Just have to go out there and execute at a high level… that’s your job.”
