Tennessee went on the road and earned its first ranked win of the Josh Heupel era, knocking off No. 18 Kentucky, 45-42.
Kentucky out gained Tennessee, dominated time of possession and won the turnover battle but explosive plays and timely stops helped the Vols earn the win.
If you need a reminder on how Pro Football Focus works, read the opening of the Bowling Green grades.
Let’s see how the Vols graded out.
Elite grade = 90-100, All-Conference = 85-89, Starter = 70-84, Backup = 60-69, Replaceable = 60 >
Offensive Grades (minimum 14 plays — 30% of offensive snaps)
WR Cedric Tillman — 76.6 (45 plays)
OT Cade Mays — 72.2 (49 plays)
C Cooper Mays — 71.3 (49 plays)
TE Jacob Warren — 71.2 (15 plays)
QB Hendon Hooker — 69.9 (49 plays)
WR Velus Jones Jr. — 66.3 (43 plays)
RB Jabari Small — 63.1 (26 plays)
RB Jaylen Wright — 62.5 (17 plays)
WR JaVonta Payton — 60.5 (45 plays)
OG Javontez Spraggins — 57.5 (49 plays)
OG Jerome Carvin — 56.7 (49 plays)
OT Darnell Wright — 49.1 (49 plays)
TE Princeton Fant — 41.9 (31 plays)
Shout out to Cade Mays. I was skeptical about his ability to play offensive tackle at an All-SEC level entering this season but he’s been really solid. Coming back from the injury that sidelined him against Alabama, Mays was really solid.
Cooper Mays played his best game of his injury riddled season, grading out at the Vols’ third best offensive player.
One interesting note, Ramel Keyton played more snaps than Jalin Hyatt. Keyton earned a 56.3 grade in eight plays while Hyatt earned a 71.4 grade in five plays.
Defensive Grades (minimum of 30 plays — 30% of defensive snaps)
CB Alontae Taylor — 81.5 (86 plays)
STAR Theo Jackson — 72.8 (99 plays)
DE Caleb Tremblay — 68.5 (55 plays)
DE Byron Young — 65.6 (72 plays)
S Trevon Flowers — 63.9 (99 plays)
CB Warren Burrell — 63.1 (79 plays)
DE Tyler Baron — 62.7 (55 plays)
DT Matthew Butler — 60.4 (88 plays)
LB Jeremy Banks — 58.4 (52 plays)
DE Ja’Quain Blakely — 56.4 (48 plays)
S Jaylen McCollough — 54.8 (99 plays)
LB Aaron Beasley — 49.0 (95 plays)
CB Kamal Hadden — 43.8 (32 plays)
DT Omari Thomas — 36.3 (39 plays)
A few Tennessee players came up short of 30 snaps but still earned a solid amount of plays. In his first game back from injury Elijah Simmons earned a 76.3 grade in 19 plays. Da’Jon Terry earned a 61.4 grade in 27 plays. Solon Page III earned a 52.1 grade in 19 plays.
Alontae Taylor and Theo Jackson were all around the ball Saturday night and they earned the two highest grades of any Tennessee defenders.
The middle of Tennessee’s defense struggled Saturday night. Besides Trevon Flowers, Tennessee’s safeties and three linebackers all graded out under 60.
