Kentucky Wildcats 16, Tennessee Volunteers 50: Post-Drubbing Dirge

There comes a point in the season, virtually always after five straight losses, where you just throw up your hands, quit complaining, and bow to the inevitable. The Kentucky Wildcats were comprehensively unfortunate against the Tennessee Volunteers, unable to stop them on defense, unable to tackle anybody, and miserably inefficient on offense. It was another noncompetitive, forlorn football performance in a seemingly unending string of them.

There is simply no reason to beat up a lot on this team anymore, they seem to have mailed it in. I don’t know if they are just worn down by a long season and lack of depth, but I simply don’t have it in me to criticize them much more than I already have. It seems unproductive and like shooting fish in a barrel. These guys have tried hard, but this season has clearly been too much for them.

When your team goes into full suck mode, it’s hard work to be a fan. I know some of us will throw up our hands and give up, and frankly, I don’t blame you. Kentucky did just enough this season to raise our hopes to an unfortunately high level from where the fall is very, very long and the landing is very, very hard. Here are a few quick observations:

• There was no phase of this game where Kentucky outplayed Tennessee.
• The running game was non-existent. Without run-pass balance, you are going to lose.
• Tackling continues to be a problem. That will have to be solved in the off season.
• The offensive line is uncompetitive at this point. Probably, it is due to depth and a long season. Depth is a problem Mark Stoops knew we had this season, and this is the point at which it rears its head. I hope to heaven we have a huge repository of talented, red-shirted linemen waiting in the wings.
• Patrick Towles did what he could. It wasn’t nearly enough.
• Drops. < Sigh >
• Defense. Rather, non defense. Ugh.
• Great kick by McGinness to set a school record. That’s the only positive I can find.
• Landon Foster had been near the top of the SEC a few weeks ago. Today, his wheels came completely off.

For me, I’ll find a way to pick myself up, dust myself off, and search for reasons to be optimistic against our final opponent, the Louisville Cardinals, in a couple of weeks. Somehow, I’ll find a way, and I know most of you will as well. This loss is not that much more painful than the one against Georgia, really, it just came against a team who we should match up better against. Alas, we didn’t tonight, and the road is very unforgiving in the SEC.

Congratulations to Tennessee, they played well and just ran completely over a hapless Wildcats team who has steadily lost confidence. The Vols have parlayed the win over South Carolina into a nice ending to their season, and Tennessee has been long without joy in a football-crazy land. The part of me that is a Wildcats fan is very displeased at that success coming at Kentucky’s expense. To be fair, though, Tennessee would’ve had to be really bad to lose to Kentucky tonight.

Remember, it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game. And Kentucky played like shit.

— Drew Franklin (@DrewFranklinKSR) November 16, 2014

Yeah, that pretty much says it all.

Thank God for basketball season, where we will surely wreak a terrible vengeance on all our football tormentors. That can’t come soon enough for me.