Cats Hope To Spring The Upset
It’s a battle of two teams heading in opposite directions Saturday night in Knoxville. For Mark Stoops and the Wildcats, they want to play spoiler and get their season back on track. On the other side of the ball, Tennessee is looking to get back in the playoff hunt. Let’s look at both teams, give you the series history, and give you a prediction as Kentucky Heads To Rocky Top.
More Of The Same
If it seems like every week we’re talking about the ineptitude of the Wildcat offense, it’s because we are. Kentucky’s the only team who hasn’t scored more than 20 points in a league game. Bush Hamdan’s offense ranks 119th in college football averaging 307 yards per game. Taking it a step further they are 124th in the nation in yards per play gaining only 4.93 per play. That’s out of 134 teams.
A week ago during the the really bad loss to Auburn the UK brain trust went with Gavin Wimsatt at quarterback in place of Brock Vandagriff for the second half. Even though they were tied at 10 and the coaches said there was nothing physically wrong with him they just wanted to get a better look at Wimsatt. The offense did little until near the end of the game when the Cats got the ball to the Tiger’s five-yard line. However, they got no points when Wimsatt was picked off.
Another puzzling thing was the Cats got away from a running game that was doing pretty well. This is despite the fact UK was missing both Chip Trayanum and Demie Sumo-Karngbaye. Demie will be back this week while Trayanum is out again. All of the Kentucky offensive struggles have to have the Vols licking their chops.
Speaking of Tennessee let’s look at the Vols as Kentucky heads to Rocky Top.
Scouting The Volunteers
When you think of Tennessee the first thing that comes to mind is a high-powered offense. However this year Josh Heupel’s club has been winning with a strong rushing game and defense. On the year UT is 6-1 overall and 3-1 in league play. They are coming off a 24-17 win over Alabama two weeks ago. Their one loss came on the road at Arkansas.
Quarterback Nico Iamaleava leads the Volunteer attack. So far in 2024, he’s completed 63 percent of his passes for 1,413 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions. In addition, he run for 170 yards and another score.
As mentioned earlier the Vols have a great running game led by junior Dylan Sampson. He’s second in the SEC and 1oth in the nation with 878 yards. However, he’s first in the league and third overall with a ridiculous 17 touchdowns in seven games. In case you are curious only Army’s Bryson Daily (19) and Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty (18) have more. When the Vols throw the ball Bru McCoy and Squirrel White have a combined 40 catches on the year.
One look at the stats and you can see how good the Tennessee defense has been. They are third in the nation allowing only 259 yards a game and second, giving up only 4.03 yards per play. Taking it a step further they are second in rushing defense (79 yards a game) and third in points allowed (11.57).
If you are a Wildcat fan this next part won’t be very good to read but let’s look at the rivalry between the two teams.
Series History
Saturday marks the 120th time Kentucky and Tennessee have met. The tally is very lopsided towards the Vols who’ve won 84 times to 26 for UK with nine ties. Tennessee won 26 in a row from 1985-20210 before the Cats broke through in 2011. Currently, UT is on a three-game winning streak.
Last season in Lexington Joe Milton threw for 227 yards and a touchdown and Jaylen Wright ran for 120 yards and a score in a 33-27 Volunteer win. The last time they met in Knoxville it wasn’t pretty for the Cats as they were demolished 44-6.
Kentucky’s last win came in Knoxville back in 2020 in a surprising 27-point rout. The game turned out to be the last one for beloved offensive line coach John Schlarman who passed away shortly after the game. It was Kentucky’s first win in Knoxville since 1984.
We’ve looked at both teams and given some series history. Now it’s prediction time as Kentucky heads to Rocky Top.
Who Wins On Saturday?
On paper, this one looks like a mismatch with the Vols a heavy favorite. In fact, as of this writing, UT is a 16.5-point favorite. The UK coaching staff hasn’t named a quarterback yet for Saturday. Will it matter against a strong Tennessee defense? We’ll find out on Saturday.
For all the talk about Kentucky’s lack of scoring the Vols have been held under 25 points in all of their conference games in 2024. Unfortunately, the Wildcats are going to be without a number of starters on defense Saturday night. All-SEC defensive back Maxwell Hairston will miss his fifth game. In addition, linebackers J.J. Weaver and D’Eryk Jackson are also listed as out. Put it all together and it looks like another long night in Knoxville.
Tennessee 31-14
Thanks for checking out our preview as Kentucky heads to Rocky Top. We’ll be back with a recap after the game.
