Game 10
Tennessee Volunteers at Kentucky Wildcats
Saturday, Nov. 9; Commonwealth Stadium; Lexington, Ky.
While the Auburn Tigers were Tennessee football’s biggest win in Jeremy Pruitt’s inaugural 2018 season, the Kentucky Wildcats weren’t far behind. This was UK’s best season in over 40 years, and the Vols still managed to dominate them 24-7.
Now, with the Wildcats having to rebuild this year after losing so much talent, UT should have a major advantage. However, a couple of things are working against them. For starters, this game is back in Lexington. Even if it was in Butch Jones’s tenure, Kentucky did win the last time the two faced off there.
On top of that, Kentucky has already shown under Mark Stoops that it reloads more than rebuilds. After all, they were supposed to have a drop-off when Patrick Towles left and only got better in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
So this is going to be another huge game for the Vols that they can’t take for granted, and we have no idea what will end up happening here. Although the South Carolina Gamecocks are THE bellwether game, this is another toss-up game.
Prediction
Even if the Wildcats take a step forward under Mark Stoops, the Vols will refocus after an ugly showing against the UAB Blazers. They’ll be thinking about the chance to reach bowl eligibility with a win here, and just like he did last year, Jeremy Pruitt will render Stoops’s offense useless. Rocky Top wins in similar fashion to 2018.
Tennessee: 23 Kentucky: 10