Tennessee At Kentucky Is A Must Win For Both Programs

The Tennessee Volunteers and Kentucky Wildcats find themselves in similar situations as they did this time last year.

In seven games through last season, the Wildcats sat at 5-2 and looked like they would be heading to a bowl game for the first time under head coach Mark Stoops. Meanwhile in Tennessee, the Vols had an identical 3-4 record coming off of a 31-point loss to Ole Miss.

On Halloween night, that’s October 31 for those who might hate the holiday, Kentucky and Tennessee will play in what is a traditionally lop sided rivalry, with the Vols holding a 77-24 series lead (nine ties), and have only lost one game since 1985.

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The Vols are coming off of three straight double-digit wins against the Wildcats as well, with one of those being quarterback Joshua Dobbs’ first career start.

Both teams came into the year looking for more success than last season. As mentioned before, the Wildcats were 5-2 through their first seven games, but finished 5-7. The Vols were 3-4, but finished 6-6 in the regular season. At this point last season, the Wildcats were widely expected to make a bowl game, and Tennessee was a big question mark.

Now, the Vols are expected to win out and finish 8-4, and the Wildcats could be staring another 5-7 year in the face with Charlotte being the only potentially guaranteed win left on their schedule.

Three of four losses for Tennessee have came to teams in the top 25, and all four losses have been by single-digits. Kentucky has dropped two of its losses to Florida and Auburn by single digits, and were recently beat handily by Mississippi State 42-16.

The moral of the story is that this game is extremely important (duh). If Kentucky loses, their quest for a bowl game appearance since Joker Phillips had the head set in the 2010 season looks exceedingly difficult. If Tennessee loses, a season that is already lost to several fans, is definitely over. Many believe the Vols should have a winning record right now, and be in the top 25 or maybe even the top 10 in college football. They have a good point, and if Tennessee loses to Kentucky then we will see more people jumping ship.

This is not the same Kentucky program Vol fans are accustomed to, but Tennessee still has the talent on their side. Expect the Vols to go up to Lexington and push the record to 4-4, but it will not be easy with a desperate Wildcat team. Nobody wants to see what would happen on “Vol Twitter” if Tennessee finds a way to lose.

Next: Vols Should Finish Season In Top 25; Begin Next Season In Top 10

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