Tennessee beat Kentucky by six points on the road Saturday 33-27, but the game didn’t go how many thought it would.
Both teams entered the game as two of the best rushing offenses in the SEC, with Kentucky’s Ray Davis having been the conference’s best running back based off of numbers with Tennessee’s Jaylen Wright not far behind.
Given the two teams’ success on the ground up to this point in the season, many expected both sides to lean on the run and for the game to be an old-school style football matchup.
One side leaned on the run, while the other couldn’t, as Tennessee out-gained the Wildcats 254-72.
Junior Jaylen Wright and sophomore Dylan Sampson turned in big performances for the Vols, with the pair combining for 236 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns.
Not only did the duo shine on the stat sheet, they made some of the biggest plays of the game for Tennessee in the victory.
Let’s take a look at Wright and Sampson’s performances against Kentucky by the numbers, including their stat lines and big plays.
15
The number of fourth-quarter touches Dylan Sampson had: 12 rushes, three receptions. With Jaylen Wright exiting the game prior to the fourth-quarter due to getting ‘nicked up’, according to Josh Heupel, Sampson carried the load and was the focal point of the Vols’ offense in two significant drive.
With his 15 fourth-quarter touches, Sampson accumulated 91 total yards and a touchdown, including gains of 24 and 12 on the ground and 17 and 11 through the air. The sophomore running back was the MVP of the final quarter.
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10.9
Jaylen Wright’s yards per carry mark on his 11 attempts against Kentucky. Wright bounced back after a down day against Alabama last week to rumble for 120 yards and a score on his 11 totes.
The junior back was once again Tennessee’s best offensive player until he exited the game, and his 10.9 yards per rush mark makes it a staggering five games this season where Wright has averaged seven or more yards per carry.
On the season, Wright’s yards per carry mark is right at 7.0, which now ranks first in the SEC after Tennessee shut down Ray Davis.
11
The amount of total plays Wright and Sampson gained eight or more yards from scrimmage. All of Wright’s five plays of eight or more yards from scrimmage were runs, while two of Sampson’s six plays were receptions.
The duo combined for seven plays that went 10 or more yards from the line of scrimmage, including a 12-yard touchdown run by Sampson and a 52-yard touchdown run by Wright.
34
The amount of total touches for Sampson and Wright combined. It’s the highest amount of touches Wright and Sampson have combined for since they’ve both been at Tennessee.
The duo’s 34 touches were highly significant in the Vols’ six-point win, as Tennessee probably doesn’t beat Kentucky without the great running back play they had on Saturday night.
Final stat lines:
Jaylen Wright: 11 rushes, 120 yards, 1 TD, 10.9. AVG, 52–long, 1 rec., 2 yards
Dylan Sampson: 18 rushes, 76 yards, 1 TD, 4.2 AVG, 24–long, 4 rec., 39 yards
