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Tennessee football at Kentucky: 10 keys for Vols and Wildcats

By Caleb Calhoun

LEXINGTON, KY - SEPTEMBER 29: A view of Commonwealth stadium before the game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the South Carolina Gamecocks at Commonwealth Stadium on September 29, 2012 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KY - SEPTEMBER 29: A view of Commonwealth stadium before the game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the South Carolina Gamecocks at Commonwealth Stadium on September 29, 2012 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images /

Beating Kentucky is almost necessary for Tennessee football to keep its bowl hopes alive. Here are the Volunteers and Wildcats keys to the game.

One of the rules of the universe on Rocky Top is for Tennessee football to beat the Kentucky Wildcats. Losing to them in 2011 set off a chain of events that cost Derek Dooley his job. Butch Jones was fired two games after he lost to them in 2017.

Those are the Vols’ only two losses to UK since 1984. Even last year, en route to a 5-7 season while the Wildcats had their best season in decades, Jeremy Pruitt’s first team managed to dominate this rivalry once known as the Battle for the Beer Barrel by a score of 24-7.

Simply put, Tennessee football beats Kentucky. This year, however, there is more of a sense of urgency behind it. That’s actually similar to how they went into the game last year, but with the need for Pruitt to show improvement in his second year, he now needs the win a lot more.

Despite turning things around, an 0-2 start with two home losses to Group of Five schools still has the Vols behind the eight-ball in trying to reach a bowl game. They are 4-5 and 2-3 in the SEC with road games against Kentucky and the Missouri Tigers coming up.

If they are going to get to six wins, they have to win one of those two road games while beating the Vanderbilt Commodores, a team that has beaten them in three straight seasons under Derek Mason, at home. Of the two road wins, Kentucky seems like the easier pick since Mizzou is undefeated and dominant in Columbia. That makes this game huge.

Kentucky, however, also has something to play for. After losing a ton of talent and then seeing their starting quarterback go down, 8-4 is on the table for this team, which is currently 4-4. Should they win Saturday, they close with Vanderbilt, UT Martin and a rebuilding Louisville Cardinals team at home. Given everything that’s happened, that would be incredible.

So both teams are playing this game with a sense of urgency, but what will determine who comes out on top? Let’s break that down here. Here are 10 keys for the Vols and Wildcats when Tennessee football visits Kentucky on Saturday.

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