Tennessee Football will look for a bounce-back win this Saturday night against Kentucky after a three-score defeat to Alabama last weekend in Tuscaloosa. On paper, things should go Tennessee’s way. The Vols have a better record, have resilient wins in SEC play, and have better talent. But as is often proven each Saturday in the sport, anything can happen if you’re not fully prepared to play when you step between the lines.
Josh Heupel is undefeated against Kentucky during his four years with Tennessee, but it hasn’t always been easy for the Vols. Tennessee has an average win margin of 24 points in its two home wins over Kentucky, but that number drops to just a 4.5-point win margin on the road. The Vols beat the Wildcats 45-42 in 2021, followed by a 33-27 win in 2023.
Kentucky’s also given teams some decent competition at Kroger Field this year. While the Wildcats are still looking for their first conference win, they only lost to Ole Miss by one touchdown and fell to Texas by a field goal in overtime.
SEC Now analyst and former SEC coach Gene Chizik believes that Lexington’s environment could present a trap for Josh Heupel’s Volunteers on Saturday night.
“This could be a tough game for Tennessee,” Chizik said on SEC Now. “And if you go back over the years, how many times has Georgia waltzed in there, highly ranked, and I mean they’re fighting and clawing at the end trying to stay undefeated, right? We’ve seen Florida go in there and get beat. We’ve seen the Georgias go in there and really struggle. It’s a night game. This game, this rivalry, dates back to the late 1800s. This means a lot to the fanbase. The place will be rocking.”
From an Xs and Os standpoint, Chizik believes that defensive coordinator Brad White’s game plan against Tennessee’s potent offense could be a path to an upset victory.
“But the bottom line is, Brad White, I’m a big fan of his defensively,” Chizik said. “You look at what he did last week, Texas had 179 total yards last week, right? Brad White will have a great game plan. He’s going to need it, because the defense is going to have to keep them in the game. The defense is going to have to get off the field on third downs. He’s going to have to create negative plays. Brad White is one of the best coordinators in college football, and he will have a good game plan. That’s why, to me, this Tennessee team better, they better go in there with eyes wide open, because this could be a tough one.”
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Kentucky’s defense hasn’t stood out all that much on the stat sheet. The Wildcats are giving up the third-most yards per game and the second-most points per game in the SEC this season. But SEC Now analyst Matt Stinchcomb still believes that the Wildcats’ defensive group could be an x-factor.
“He does a great job at making you go the long way,” Stinchcomb said about White’s defense. “Right? They just don’t give you any layups. There’s no gimmes versus this Kentucky defense. Every time you cover them, you come into it, or you’re covering a team that maybe just played Kentucky, and they just talk about how solid they are everywhere. Where there’s just no gimmes, there’s no gimme yards. Tennessee is probably going to have to go the long way. Can you do that and sustain that?”
While neither defense is statistically popping off the charts, the difference between the teams lies on the offensive side of the ball. Tennessee’s offense ranks second in the SEC in total yards, while Kentucky’s is near the bottom at 14th in the conference. As Stinchcomb said, can Tennessee sustain some long drives and end them with points? If so, this could be a strong bounce-back opportunity for the Vols. If not, though, we could be in for another close SEC matchup for the Volunteers.
We’ll just have to wait and see on Saturday.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee Football coverage leading into the game this Saturday night in Lexington.
