Tennessee Ends Kentucky’s Winning Streak

The Kentucky football team has been one of the darlings of the 2026 college football season. Coming off their bye week, Will Stein’s club entered Saturday riding a six-game winning streak. In addition, they sat sixth in the first college football playoff rankings. That’s the highest they’ve ever been. However, they faced a daunting task heading to a place where they’ve had little to no success. Unfortunately for the BBN, about everything that could go wrong did. As a result, the Cats dropped from a first-place tie. It wasn’t pretty, but let’s break it down as Tennessee ends Kentucky’s winning streak 34-6. Tennessee Ends Kentucky’s Winning Streak Had Their Chances After punting on their first drive, the Kentucky offense had a good chance at getting on the board. However, on a third and eight from the Tennessee 39, Kenny Minchey was picked off in the end zone, ending UK’s scoring chances. It was the UK signal caller’s first interception since the Alabama game in week two. The Kentucky defense held once again, and for most of the first quarter neither team got anything going on offense. That was until the end of the period. Daune Morris found a seam against a Kentucky blitz and was off to the races, 66 yards for a touchdown. From there, both teams traded field goals and it was 10-3 Volunteers. Kentucky’s second turnover of the half, a fumble by  CJ Baxter, gave the Vols good field position. However, the Kentucky defense held again, allowing no points. Right before the intermission, the Wildcats had their best drive of the game. Starting at their own four-yard line, Minchey marched the Cats down to the Tennessee seven. A third down throw to all-SEC tight end Willie Rodriguez fell incomplete. Unfortunately for the BBN, they got a no-call of what looked like pass interference, which forced another field goal, making it 10-6 at the half. Considering how poorly Kentucky had played, you had to feel good about the second half. However, you would be wrong as Tennessee ended Kentucky’s winning streak 34-6. Rocky Flop In each of Kentucky’s three straight SEC road wins, they trailed in the second half. There was no reason to think it couldn’t happen again. But playing in Neyland Stadium has always been rough for Kentucky, and this was no different. UT got a field goal to start the half, and then the Cats fell off the cliff. A Minchey fumble led to a touchdown pass from backup quarterback Faizon Brandon to  Mike Matthews, and just like that it was 20-6. On the next series, Minchey was sacked on a fourth and one at midfield. Tennessee took advantage again as Desean Bishop took it in from five yards out, and the lead was 21. Kentucky turned it over on downs once again when it appeared Minchey forgot it was fourth down and threw it away. Tennessee took advantage again on another touchdown run by Bishop, and that was your game. We talked in our game preview about how coach Josh Heupel would rely on Bishop, and that was certainly true as he rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns. Put it all together and Tennessee ends Kentucky’s winning streak 34-6. Looking Ahead With the win, Tennessee goes to 7-2 on the season and 4-2 in the SEC. They now have wins over the fifth (Alabama) and sixth-ranked teams in the playoff standings. With so many teams losing on Saturday, will that be enough to squeeze them into the top 12? They travel to Texas A&M next week, and you could make the case they’ll be favored in each of their final games. On the other side of the ball, Kentucky drops to 7-2 and 5-2 in league play. Their six-game winning streak comes to a screeching halt. They return home to Kroger Field to host Florida next Saturday night. UK has won four of the last five from the Gators. They will most likely drop in our bowl projections and playoff rankings. The Last Word During the Mark Stoops era at Kentucky, much was made of the so-called “Bye Week Blues” in which the Cats played horribly and most times lost after the week off. At times Saturday reminded you of that. Kentucky looked off from the start and seemingly had no answers against the Vols. However, you have to give Heupel and defensive coordinator Jim Knowles credit. The defense forced three turnovers, had four sacks and eight tackles for a loss. Kentucky was one of the best in the country in turnover margin, but the Vols flipped that on Saturday. Tennessee only had eight more yards than the Cats  (389-361), but going 0-for-2 in the red zone and turning the ball over won’t get it done. At the end of the day, it was another frustrating trip to Knoxville for Kentucky. They’ve now lost 20 of the last 21 at Neyland with the only win coming back in 2020. Heupel moves to 6-0 against the Wildcats. UK still has a path to the playoff. However, there’s no room for error, and they most likely must win out. Thanks for checking out our recap as Tennessee ends Kentucky’s winning streak 34-6 here at Last Word On College Football. Main Image: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images   More College Football Content: Ohio State’s Season is Crashing UW Gets Beat at Home by PSU