It's become popular across the sports world for teams to have "throwback nights" at the stadium, paying tribute to the past.

Kentucky had one Saturday at Tennessee. The unwelcome kind.

In a game that looked more like the Wildcats and Volunteers of yore, No. 3 Tennessee manhandled No. 19 Kentucky, 44-6, at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.

The Volunteers, in the mix as a national championship contender for the first time since 1998, dominated in every phase of the game. The nation's top-ranked offense put 44 points on the board and rolled up 422 yards of total offense against the No. 14 defensive unit in the country.

Meanwhile, the Tennessee defense -- viewed as the Vols' potential Achilles heel -- held high-profile Kentucky quarterback Will Levis and the Cats' offense to just 205 total yards and one score. The Vols picked off Levis three times and also got a blocked PAT and a blocked punt from their special teams.

“Not very good," Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops said. "We got beat by a better football team. They beat us in virtually every area.

"You’ve got to come in here and play as good as you can in every area … and we didn’t do that tonight.”

Heisman hopeful Hendon Hooker completed 19 of 25 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Vols. He threw two more TD strikes to wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, who set a new single-season record at Tennessee with his 13th and 14th, among five receptions for 138 yards.

The winners also had three rushing touchdowns by three different backs on a night when the Vols outrushed the Cats 177-107.

Tennessee (8-0, 4-0 SEC) sets up a huge confrontation next week with defending national champion Georgia. The No. 1 Bulldogs romped past Florida, 42-20, on Saturday in Jacksonville.

Kentucky (5-3, 2-3 SEC) searches for answers after laying an egg despite having two weeks to prepare for the Vols and its healthiest roster of the season.

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In this "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK loss...

KEY MOMENT:

Trailing just 13-6 early in the second quarter, Kentucky had back to back offensive possessions that ended with disaster. On the first, receiver Tayvion Robinson dropped a third-down conversion pass from Levis that might have had a chance to turn into a long touchdown had he hauled the ball in with the defensive back slipping. On the second, the Cats drove to the UT 12-yard line before Levis was picked off by Juwan Mitchell on a deflected ball intended for Dane Key. The game slowly unraveled from there as the Cats carried a 27-6 deficit into the locker room at halftime.

GAME BALL:

JALIN HYATT, TENNESSEE - The Volunteers' star receiver lived up to his billing, catching five passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. He's having a monster season in Josh Heupel's full-throttle offense with 45 receptions for 907 yards and a single-season, school-record 14 touchdowns.

BY THE NUMBERS:

2 - Third-down conversions by Kentucky on 13 attempts.

3 - Turnovers by the Wildcats. Zero for the Volunteers.

4 - Sacks of UK quarterback Will Levis by the Volunteers.

6 - The lowest points scored by Kentucky and allowed by Tennessee this season. The Vols also allowed six points against Akron.

5-8 - Mark Stoops' record at UK coming off an open date on the schedule.

38 - The worst margin of defeat in the history of the UK program when the ranked Cats were facing another ranked opponent.

98 - Passing yards by the Wildcats, a season-low.

QUOTABLE:

"I just kept making plays that were detrimental to us. I really thought that if we went into halftime in a one-possession game, we'd be fine." -- UK quarterback Will Levis

UP NEXT:

Kentucky returns to action next week at Missouri. The Tigers (4-4, 2-3 SEC) picked up an impressive road win, 23-10, on Saturday at No. 25 South Carolina.