Sunday, November 21, 1999
Tennessee 56, Kentucky 21
Now 'Cats wait to hear bowl fate
BY NEIL SCHMIDT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky still expects back-to-back bowl berths for the first time since 1983-84. It still has a surprising six-victory season. Yet there is still a chasm between the good and the great in the Southeastern Conference, and UK remains on the short side of the divide.
UK played seventh-ranked Tennessee even much of Saturday afternoon but only after allowing the Volunteers an early lead they wouldn't lose. By the time the Wildcats tired, it got ugly, ending 56-21.
“They're a big, tough football team,” UK defensive end Dennis Johnson said. “We were just outmanned. They're just bigger than we are.”
The Volunteers have scored 56 or more points against UK in four consecutive seasons, winning by an average margin of 37 points. The Wildcats have lost to UT 15 consecutive times.
For all their gains in the Hal Mumme era, UK still eyes SEC powers Tennessee, Florida and Georgia with envy.
“Those are some of the top programs in the country,” UK quarterback Dusty Bonner said. “That's where we'd like to take our program.
“But this was a positive season for us. We did a lot more than people expected of us, but we did what we expected.”
Now begins a long wait. The Wildcats figure to get a bowl bid but might have to wait until Dec.5 to learn their fate.
In their favor: a tough schedule, an upset of Arkansas, an exciting offense and an attractive fan base.
Working against them: One of their victories was over a Division I-AA team; they went 1-3 down the stretch; and the SEC may have more bowl-eligible teams than exist bowls with SEC tie-ins.
“We're a scrappy team that had to fight and claw for everything, and most of y'all (media) were saying we were going to win two to four games,” Mumme said. “We're right where we hoped we'd be.”
Even though UT star junior tailback Jamal Lewis was held out Saturday to rest an ankle injury, the Volunteers still rushed for 294 yards — 179 of them by junior Travis Henry. UK committed six turnovers, five of them Bonner interceptions.
The first 20 minutes killed UK. UT reached the end zone on its first three drives and four of its first five to build a 27-0 lead.
Two controversial penalties loomed large. UT missed a third-down pass, but Kenneth Grant was called for pass interference; the Volunteers scored on the next play. On the next drive, UK's Derek Smith (Highlands) had an apparent 42-yard catch to the 1, but he was called for offensive pass interference.
“We might have gone into halftime 27-21 instead,” Mumme said.
UK closed to within 27-14, but the Vols added four second-half TDs.
Smith and Bobby Blizzard, both freshman tight ends, were bright spots. Neither had seen extensive action, but Smith caught six passes for 85 yards and Blizzard five for 60 yards.
“We asked them to step up and take on a role they weren't familiar with, and they did it very well,” Mumme said.
UK senior tight end James Whalen Jr. caught nine passes for 114 yards and a TD, lifting his season totals to 90 catches for 1,019 yards. His reception total breaks the school's single-season mark of 85, set last year by Craig Yeast, and his yardage total is second only to the 1,311 Yeast had last year.
UK senior halfback Anthony White had a combined 120 yards rushing and receiving, pushing his season total to 1,031 yards combined, making him the first Wildcat to tally 1,000 combined rushing and receiving yards in three consecutive seasons.
He also became the third player in NCAA history to top 1,500 yards rushing and receiving in a career. He has 1,758 yards rushing and 1,520 receiving.
Tennessee ....... 21 6 15 14—56
Kentucky ....... 0 14 0 7—21
First Quarter
UT—Wilson 29 pass from T.Martin (Walls kick), 9:40.
UT—Henry 40 run (Walls kick), 6:38.
UT—Henry 61 run (Walls kick), 3:48.
Second Quarter
UT—Henry 13 run (kick failed), 10:31.
UK—Whalen 34 pass from Bonner (Samuel kick), 6:51.
UK—White 3 pass from Bonner (Samuel kick), :20.
Third Quarter
UT—D.Martin 21 pass from T.Martin (T.Martin rush), 2:45.
UT—T.Martin 1 run (Walls kick), :47.
Fourth Quarter
UT—Smith 61 run (Walls kick), 11:30.
UT—Smith 2 run (Walls kick), 5:28.
UK—White 12 pass from Bonner (Samuel kick), 2:10.
A—71,022.
UT UK
First downs ....... 20 24
Rushes-yards ....... 44-294 30-117
Passing ....... 171 361
Comp-Att-Int ....... 8-22-1 32-50-5
Return Yards ....... 152 130
Punts-Avg. ....... 5-46.6 6-39.2
Fumbles-Lost ....... 2-1 1-1
Penalties-Yards ....... 6-39 8-70
Time of Possession ....... 27:20 32:40
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Tennessee, Henry 23-179, Smith 10-82, T.Martin 8-32, Mathews 1-3, Team 1-0, Biggers 1-(minus 2). Kentucky, Bonner 21-60, White 4-50, Pinner 3-6, Homer 1-2, Wesley 1-(minus 1).
PASSING—Tennessee, T.Martin 7-18-0-155, Mathews 1-4-1-16. Kentucky, Bonner 32-50-5-361.
RECEIVING—Tennessee, Parker 3-56, Stallworth 2-50, Wilson 2-44, D.Martin 1-21. Kentucky, Whalen 9-114, White 7-70, Smith 6-85, Blizzard 5-60, Shanklin 2-27, Homer 2-3, Pyatt 1-2.
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