GAME GRADES: Marks for each position after UK's loss in Knoxville

QB

C

It wasn't Stephen Johnson's best game. It wasn't his worst game. In fact, it was much of what we've become accustomed to from Johnson. He made some impressive throws but inaccuracy and inconsistencies marked his work as a passer. He finished 12-29 for 192 yards and an interception with no scoring throws. Johnson did tally 72 rushing yards on 10 carries, but he actually had more than that on Kentucky's first offensive play of the game -- a 75-yard run. Johnson's receivers didn't help him often enough (save for Blake Bone's great catch, and C.J. Conrad's).

RB

A+

The only mark against the backs in this game was Benny Snell's untimely fumble. Aside from that they were spectacular, as they have so often been this year. Snell had 79 yards on 15 carries. Boom Williams notched 127 yards on 16 runs. Jojo Kemp had 90 yards including a 71-yard touchdown rumble. And when Sihiem King got into the game he ripped off 75 yards on six tough carries himself. In total the backs powered the Cats to 443 yards on the ground. That's phenomenal.

WR

B-

It was a mixed bag from this group. Garrett Johnson's drops continue to be a major issue for the offense. But the group did make some nice plays. Conrad had that acrobatic catch over the middle. Dorian Baker had three catches for 35 yards and Bone had that highlight-reel catch down the sideline. Jeff Badet's injury really hurt this group's big-play ability, particularly because Johnson looks to him so much. Both Ryan Timmons and Tavin Richardson had one catch for 17 yards.

TE

B+

It was another quality performance from the tight ends as a unit blocking. They didn't seem to make any major errors. There was that big catch by Conrad and Greg Hart also had one grab (but for a single yard). Conrad should have probably had a touchdown on a poorly thrown ball from Johnson down in Tennessee territory.

OL

B

The backs are great, yes. And Tennessee did have four sacks with other pressures and big hits on Johnson. But let's be honest. If your offense posts 443 rushing yards on 55 carries (8.1 YPC) then your big guys up front have done a heck of a job in one of their most important areas. The Cats' offensive line opened hole after hole for the backs. Now, the group did struggle in pass protection. George Asafo-Adjei was knocked backwards by a Tennessee defensive lineman on a play that caused Snell to be tripped up on third down inside the Vols' 5-yard line. And that caused UK to settle for a field goal. Kyle Meadows struggled with the Vols' Corey Vereen. But both of those players also did some good things. Nick Haynes was flagged for a personal foul penalty and so was Jervontius Stallings.

DL

D-

Adrian Middleton was pretty active on Saturday (five tackles, 1.5 TFLs) and both Naquez Pringle (3 tackles) and Matt Elam (2) made stops. But this group was blown off the ball too often by Tennessee's offensive line, and they weren't in the backfield nearly enough. Tennessee rushed for 376 yards and Joshua Dobbs wasn't pressured as much as UK needed for him to be.

LB

C-

Denzil Ware was very active (9 tackles, a sack, 2.5 TFL's) and so were Josh Allen (6 tackles, sack, TFL) and Courtney Love (6 tackles). Eli Brown (4) and Jordan Bonner (2) also showed up in the stat column. But remember, somebody has to make tackles. Too many of those tackles came downfield. There were missed tackles, arm tackles and on plenty of occasions the linebackers were out of position and simply outmatched.

DB

D-

It was a day the secondary would probably love to forget. Dobbs struggles as a passer frequently but today he was 11-17 for 223 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. The bright spots were few and far between. Derrick Baity did make a very impressive interception at the end of the first half and Mike Edwards led the team in tackles with a dozen. But there were, again, too many blown coverages and instances where Tennessee receivers were running wide open down the field for big plays. It didn't help that Baity was banged up and that Chris Westry left the game with an injury. Kendall Randolph was hurt as well.

ST

A

The Cats' special teams unit did well enough. Austin MacGinnis (3-3 FG's) had a very MacGinnis-like day. Freshman Grant McKinniss (41.6 yards per punt) fared well in a hostile environment against a talented unit of Volunteer specialists. Charles Walker did muff the first punt of the game but it didn't cost Kentucky. Tennessee has a dangerous return game and Kentucky bottled the Vols up well. Tennessee averaged just 14 yards per kick return on six attempts.

Coaching

C

The team came out of the locker room strong twice, moving right down the field in both the first and third quarters. But things slowly tapered off. Some of the play calling seemed questionable at times, particularly in the first half when Kentucky was trying to air it out even when they were gashing the Vols on the ground. There will be plenty of people who question Mark Stoops' decision to take the field goal inside the five in the third quarter, and others will question the pooch punt on 4th and 12 in Tennessee territory when UK was down 19. Still, the coaches had a game plan that put Kentucky's offense in a position to win the game. But overall the defense just didn't come to play.