I won't throw any stats out, its quite obvious that the Vols played well offensively to start the season:
UNLV, Florida, La Tech
However, the defense gave up a bunch of big plays in the first 4 games, with the offense sputtering in game # 4 against Auburn:
UNLV, Florida, La Tech, Auburn
Then the Vols played well on both sides of the ball game # 5 at Georgia. However, this would be the first game where the Tennessee 'D' played tough for the first 3 quarters only to get soft in the 4th quarter.
The offense would continue to sputter in games # 6 Ole Miss and # 7 Alabama. The defense played great in both games.
The offense started the same against South Carolina (game # 8), but was sparked by Shaeffer heading into the second half. The Tennessee 'D' again goes soft in the 4th quarter, after playing great for 3 quarters.
The offensive momentum from the 2nd half of the South Carolina game did not carry over to the Notre Dame game (game # 9). An injury to Ainge did not help either. The defense played great for the whole game.
The offense awoke against a poor Vanderbilt (game #10) defense. However, the soft defense (4th quarter) seen in the weeks leading up to the game, showed up in the 2nd quarter this time and again in the 4th quarter.
The good part about playing Kentucky is that they are last in scoring in both categories. The passing offense statistically is worse than Alabama's. The Vols were able to hold Alabama to 113 yards passing. Kentucky is not any better running the ball, averaging only 108 yards per game.
Where Vanderbilt had preseason hopes of going to a bowl game... Kentucky never had such hopes. Kentucky has been held under 10 points 5 times this season. There leading rusher is QB Shane Boyd who has 279 yards and 4 tds. He has also passed for 1110 yards, 5 TDs, and 8 ints.
To answer your question about what it takes for the Vols to put together a few good games in a row..... I think it is focus and intensity. These players don't seem to keep intensity in games when they start to get a lead. And like against Auburn, they go through times when the other team gets momentum, and they get down and lose intensity. (the 2 quick scores the 'd' gave up against Auburn just before the half).
If the Vols are able to keep the intensity up for the ENTIRE ballgame, I think they can beat anybody in the country.