October 29, 2022: The Premiere of Dark Mode in Its True Form

Written By Tucker Harlin

Credit: University of Tennessee Athletics

By Tucker Harlin

October 29, 2022 was a fun night for Tennessee in the Josh Heupel era. Not only did Tennessee blast Kentucky in a 44-6 win, but it added a new element to an alternate uniform.

Lane Kiffin surprised and amazed Neyland Stadium on Halloween of 2009 with the introduction of black jerseys, the first jersey color Tennessee sported that wasn’t orange or white. Unlike the smokey grey jerseys, the black jerseys unified the fan base in admiration.

The black jerseys were reintroduced to the rotation in 2021 when the Vols defeated South Carolina 45-20 in early October. The Vols wore a helmet with a power T outlined in black.

In the week leading up to Tennessee’s bout with Kentucky, a picture was leaked of a black helmet. A few days later, a spooky alternate version of “Rocky Top” was released.

Keep in mind Tennessee had defeated Florida for the second time in 17 years, blasted LSU in Baton Rouge, and broke a prolonged losing streak to Alabama two weeks ahead of October 29. Neyland’s atmosphere was primed for a hostile night environment.

Kentucky was off to a respectable start in 2022, but it encountered some bumps in the road before the trip to Knoxville.

The Wildcats temporarily lost Will Levis after a narrow defeat at Ole Miss. This adversely affected the Wildcats in a 24-14 home loss to Spencer Rattler and South Carolina the following weekend.

But Levis returned to action a week after the South Carolina loss, leading the Wildcats to a 27-17 victory over a respectable Mississippi State team. The Wildcats were coming off a bye on October 29, weeks in which Mark Stoops struggles with in his time at Kentucky.

Similar to Tennessee’s win in Lexington in 2021, Hendon Hooker found a receiver streaking wide open to the end zone on the game’s opening possession.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Kentucky scored on a long touchdown drive later in the first quarter, but the Vols blocked the extra point.

Tennessee took the ball to the end zone on two 70 plus-yard scoring drives on each of its next two possessions, holding a 20-6 early in the second quarter.

Anything and everything bad about Will Levis as a quarterback was about to reveal itself to the masses.

The Wildcats needed to convert a 3rd and 7 at the Tennessee 12 to set up a 1st and goal. Levis opted to throw a slant to freshman receiver Dane Key to pick up the first down.

But Levis guided Key into a bone crushing hit from Vols defensive back Doneiko Slaughter, and linebacker Juwan Mitchell ran the pick 48 yards in the other direction.

There was no comeback from this moment for Levis. He finished the night with 98 pass yards and three interceptions.

While the expectation for Tennessee coaches is to defeat Kentucky every season, this was Josh Heupel’s most complete win in Knoxville at the time.

There was a time in the not so distant past when Tennessee fans wanted Tim Banks gone from his role as a defensive coordinator. Outside of group of five and FCS opponents, Heupel had yet to demonstrate an ability to defeat opponents without just outscoring them.

The banged up secondary went from giving up over 300 pass yards to UT Martin to making what was supposed to be one of the best quarterbacks in the 2023 draft class look miserable on a big stage.

The strength of Tennessee’s defense has continued to grow since this victory.

Tucker Harlin
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