Tennessee football hosts Kentucky in its return to SEC play Saturday. Here are five UT Volunteers to watch for as they look to upset the UK Wildcats.
Can a 4-5 Tennessee football team that struggled to beat a 4-5 Group of Five team find a way to win two of its final three SEC games to reach bowl eligibility? Well, that’s the task at hand for Jeremy Pruitt’s first team on Rocky Top.
And Pruitt’s first game in that stretch is not an easy one. As the Vols get set to host the Kentucky Wildcats Saturday, they will be facing a Top 25 team that just played a game to try to clinch the SEC East a week before.
Sure, they lost. And that lack of morale could be just what Tennessee football needs to pull off the upset. But all matchups point to the Vols losing to a team they have owned for the past 33 years, only losing twice since 1984.
However, while one of those losses was in 2011, the other was last year. So it’s pretty clear that this team is capable of losing to Kentucky. And as underdogs this year, we have to make the crazy statement that they have an uphill climb to upset one of their usual whipping boys in UK.
If the Vols are going to avoid their first loss to the Wildcats in Knoxville since that 1984 season, though, they’re going to have to take advantage of some specific matchups themselves. That involves numerous players stepping up.
Based on the way the units played last week against the Charlotte 49ers and how Kentucky has played throughout the year, it’s pretty clear which players are going to be key to winning. UT may be at a substantial disadvantage in some areas, but the guys we’re about to name could offset that to a certain degree.
So let’s take a look at which names to pay attention to Saturday when the Battle for the Beer Barrel returns. These are the five Vols to watch for when Tennessee football hosts the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday.