Cobb will have to revisit streak

Randall Cobb was the perfect choice to start under center for Kentucky coach Rich Brooks on Saturday in Neyland Stadium.

"He's a great athlete. He's a winner. He's got a tremendous arm," said Brooks.

And he's a freshman. Cobb has no emotional baggage in his college football psyche, no lingering recollection of the Wildcats' streak of futility against rival Tennessee that began in 1985.

A year ago, the former Alcoa High School standout was still steering the Tornadoes toward a fourth consecutive Class 2A state title when Kentucky suffered a 52-50, four-overtime defeat to Tennessee.

But Cobb fared no differently Saturday than the majority of his predecessors.

While he helped the Wildcats (6-6, 2-6 SEC) take a 3-0, the Kentucky offense quickly fizzled in a 28-10 loss that extended its losing streak to 24 against the Vols.

"I'm not worried about no streak," said Cobb. "I didn't know what was going on those last 23 years.

"I'm just worried about the time that I'm here. I know I'm 0-1 now. It's time to end that streak."

Cobb spun out of a potential tackle for loss on the opening play from scrimmage and turned it into a 12-yard gain, showing the flash that made him a Mr. Football winner at Alcoa.

His 14-yard pass to Alfonso Smith on Kentucky's second drive set up a 40-yard field goal from Central High School product Lones Seiber with 3 minutes, 5 seconds left in the first.

But Tennessee (5-7, 3-5) crammed the box against him, daring him to pass. He finished with 22 yards on 11 carries and was 4-for-7 passing for 23 yards before giving way to Mike Hartline in the third quarter.

Tennessee, conversely, scored touchdowns on four of last six possessions, rushed for 210 yards and got quarterback Jonathan Crompton's best performance of the season: 6-for-8 passing for 101 yards a touchdown - and no interceptions.

"They are very good on defense to start with," said Brooks about Tennessee. "They have one of the top-ranked defenses in the nation. They've had time to see the last couple of games of Randall Cobb on film and they were stacking the box.

"We took a couple of shots down the field but were unsuccessful. The passing game is somewhat limited with Randall in there. That's why I made the switch to go to Hartline after we fell behind."

Hartline led a touchdown drive with 3:44 to play that Smith polished off with a 1-yard run to trim the deficit to 18. Without that 68-yard possession, Kentucky would have finished with 125 yards.

"We had a lot of mistakes, a lot of stupid penalties (eight for 52 yards) that we put on ourselves that backed us up," said Cobb. "I remember at one point we had 116 yards. That's just ridiculous as an offense and embarrassing as a team."

Brooks said Cobb carried himself well despite the distraction of the freshman's return home.

"If he had another year under his belt and understood the passing game (more) - and we had some help for him catching the ball, some receivers who played for us last year who are in the NFL - his play at quarterback would have been much better," said Brooks. "We really, in one sense, put it all on his shoulders and made it very difficult. Because we got to a point that if the ball wasn't in his hands, we didn't have a lot of other people making plays."