Will Tennessee whip Kentucky again?
Following their second and final bye week of the regular season, Tennessee will be back in action on Saturday night against Kentucky. The Wildcats will once again be looking to knock off the Volunteers — something they’ve done just three times since 1985.
To put it lightly, things aren’t going well for Mark Stoops in Lexington this season. Kentucky is just 3-5 on the year, stuck in the middle of a three-game losing streak. Those losses have come to Vanderbilt, Florida and Auburn, all coming after a seemingly inexplicable upset in Oxford against Ole Miss.
Kentucky now heads south to Knoxville, taking on a Tennessee team coming off of a bye. The post-bye week didn’t go so well for the Volunteers the first time around, as Tennessee went to Arkansas and found a way to lose to the Hogs. They’ve bounced back with two big home wins since though, coming against Florida and Alabama.
Neyland will undoubtedly be rocking once again as Tennessee is set to go ‘dark mode’ with their all-black uniforms once again. The Vols were in their all-black look for the 2022 blowout of Kentucky as well.
The oddsmakers see a similar story playing out this time around. Tennessee opened as a 15.5 point favorite over Kentucky this weekend. That number is out to 16.5 points currently. The total is sitting at 45.5.
Tennessee is 4-1 against the spread at home this season. The under has hit in four of Tennessee’s last five games.
Josh Heupel’s team continues to lean heavily on its elite defense, with the offense still largely being stuck in the mud since SEC play began. Tennessee hasn’t scored a single point in the first half in three straight games — a trend that must change if the Vols want to have a chance to compete for the SEC crown. After a big win and a weekend off, it will be interesting to see if Tennessee has made any strides offensively.
Tennessee and Kentucky are set for a 7:45 p.m. ET kickoff in Knoxville on Saturday night.