Tennessee vs. Kentucky Preview

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With Tennessee suffering yet another close loss at the hands of Alabama, the Vols are looking to get a win that will boost them up from the middle of the pack in the SEC East standings.

For that potential win, the Vols now look ahead to their trip to Lexington as they take on the Kentucky Wildcats this Saturday. The game is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.

Kentucky enters the game with a 4-3 record while standing at 2-3 in the SEC. With both teams coming off losses this past week, they will both be looking to get a bit of a chip on their shoulder by way of a win. For Kentucky, the stakes seem to be a bit greater.

Up until this weekend’s 42-16 loss to Mississippi State, all of Kentucky’s games this season had been decided by single-digit margins.

The Wildcats have been on the rise since Mark Stoops took the helm in 2013, despite going 2-10 in his first season. He currently has an 11-20 overall record, 4-17 in the SEC. While these numbers aren’t overly impressive, looking at the players Stoops has this season shows just how much potential this team has to put up a fight in the rest of the season and in the coming years.

The Kentucky rushing game was expected to excel this season. While it has been inconsistent, it has improved in comparison to previous years. This is due in part to sophomore running back Stanley ‘Boom’ Williams, who is currently the leading rusher for the Wildcats, bringing in 551 yards on 81 carries with three touchdowns.

The Tennessee defense should be looking to contain him or Jojo Kemp, the second highest rushing leader on the Kentucky squad.

Another player to look out for is quarterback Patrick Towles. He has looked fairly strong this season even with only throwing eight touchdowns. He has had three multiple interception games including this past weekend’s matchup against Mississippi State, in which he threw two. Towles is also a threat in the running game. So far this season, he has had 26 yards on 53 carries, racking up four touchdowns.

As for the defense, the Wildcats 3-4 defensive strategy seemed to struggle quite a bit against the Bulldogs. The Vols could really benefit from this since the Wildcats have been using either the 3-4 or 4-3 for a majority of the season. Chances are they’ll be leaning more toward the 4-3 in this upcoming game.

Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara have a solid chance to score multiple rushing touchdowns on Kentucky since the Wildcats tend to have issues with stopping the run game. As for what Dobbs and the receiving corps can do against the Wildcats, things could be a bit more difficult – especially scoring. The Vols have struggled in the redzone all season and Kentucky’s defense could only add more of a burden to the orange and white scoring through the air. The key will be to find the breaks in Kentucky’s defense and capitalize on those breaks by completing passes.

As for a score prediction for this game, it’s not all that likely to be a repeat of the Vols 50-16 win in Knoxville last year. This game will probably be a bit closer. Right now, the spread is Tennessee -7.5. Based on the scripts of both teams thus far, that close of a margin is quite possible. On the flip side, the Vols have beat the Wildcats by double-digits every year since Kentucky last won in 2011.

Capitalizing on missed opportunities from the opponent and being successful in the redzone is what will decide the winner in this game.

Prediction: Tennessee 30, Kentucky 21

Featured image by Kevan Elkins

Edited by Cody McClure

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