5 Tennessee football takeaways from win over Kentucky to open CFP path

Tennessee football pulled away for a 34-6 win over Kentucky on Nov. 7 that will shake up the College Football Playoff picture.

The 16th-ranked Vols (7-2, 4-2 SEC) leaned on their stingy defense, led by linebacker Arion Carter's 13 tackles, four tackles-for-loss and two sacks. The offense finally broke through with 24 unanswered points in the second half to put away No. 7 Kentucky (7-2, 5-2).

Tennessee improved to 5-0 against Kentucky under coach Josh Heupel, but this one carried an extra degree of difficulty. The Wildcats were riding an SEC-best six-game winning streak and projected to make the playoff in the initial rankings release.

Now the Vols have flipped the script and added steam to their own pursuit of a playoff bid.

Here are five takeaways from Tennessee’s win over Kentucky.

Tennessee football vs. Kentucky takeaways

Tennessee should jump into projected playoff bracket

This was a matchup of hopeful playoff teams. Kentucky was ranked No. 6 in the first CFP poll, and Tennessee was ranked No. 13.

This win should move the Vols into the projected 12-team bracket when the updated CFP rankings are released on Nov. 10 (9 p.m. ET, ESPN), presumably jumping over Kentucky and others that lost in Week 10.

UT has three games remaining in the regular season, including a road trip to Texas A&M (4-5, 1-5) on Nov. 14.

If the Vols run the table and finish with a 10-2 record, they should glide into the playoff. There’s a chance that 9-3 could be good enough, but beating Kentucky was essential to stay in the hunt.

Faizon Brandon was trick up Tennessee’s sleeve

It seemed like a minor substitution when backup quarterback Faizon Brandon replaced George MacIntyre for one play on a third-and-short handoff in the first quarter. It seemed more significant when he did it again for a 29-yard run to convert a third down and set up a field goal in the third quarter.

Brandon’s short-yardage package paid big dividends in the fourth quarter. He ran what appeared to be a quarterback sweep from shotgun formation. But wide receiver Mike Matthews slipped behind the line of scrimmage and caught an inside toss from Brandon.

It was technically a forward pass, and Matthews took it around the left end for a 24-yard touchdown that broke game open. The Vols took a 20-6 lead and never looked back.

DeSean Bishop became second UT player to rush for 1,000 yards twice

DeSean Bishop, a former Karns High standout, rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns for his fifth straight 100-yard rushing game. Most of it came in a fourth-quarter surge, which was enough to reach a major milestone in the Vols record book.

Bishop became only the second player in UT history to rush for 1,000 yards in two different seasons. He had 1,076 yards in 2025. And he eclipsed 1,000 yards again this season with three games remaining in the regular season plus the postseason.

Johnnie Jones is the other UT player to accomplish that feat. He rushed for 1,116 yards in 1983 and 1,290 yards in 1984.

Bishop is also chasing UT’s single-season rushing record set by former teammate Dylan Sampson, who had 1,491 yards in 2024 to earn the SEC Offensive Player of the Year award.

Vols forced rare Kentucky turnovers, finally capitalized

Kentucky entered the game with only five turnovers all season, the fewest in the SEC, and none in the previous four games. But Tennessee’s defense changed that trend by forcing three turnovers.

UT failed to convert the first two takeaways into points.

UT safety Dejuan Lane made his team-leading fourth interception. It was only the second pick thrown by Kentucky quarterback Kenny Minchey this season. And UT nickelback Qua Moss forced a fumble, which cornerback Kayin Lee recovered. But UT's offense stalled after both takeaways in the first half.

It finally capitalized in the fourth quarter when Moss forced another fumble of Minchey, which Mariyon Dye recovered. Four plays later, Matthews scored the pivotal touchdown to stretch UT's lead to 20-6.

Cooper Ranvier drilled kicks against his hometown Wildcats

Tennessee kicker Cooper Ranvier made two field goals against his hometown team. The Lexington, Kentucky, native drilled a season-long 48-yard field goal to give UT a 10-3 lead in the second quarter. Then he made a 39-yarder to extend it to 13-6 in the third quarter.

Ranvier, a Louisville transfer, is now 13-for-14 on field goals in his first UT season.

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing atknoxnews.com/subscribe.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: 5 Tennessee football takeaways from win over Kentucky to open CFP path