Tennessee football at Kentucky: Five Wildcats to watch for against Vols
To beat Kentucky, Tennessee football has to account for key players. Here are five UK Wildcats to watch for against the UT Volunteers.
As they continue to show that they are turning a corner in Jeremy Pruitt’s second season, Tennessee football has another major test. The Vols will now travel to Lexington to face the Kentucky Wildcats with a very real shot at 5-5.
Given how they started the season 0-2 with two home losses to Group of Five schools, getting back to .500 would be a huge deal for Jeremy Pruitt in his second season on the job. But it won’t be easy for them to get there.
With two road games coming up and a bye in between, Tennessee football has to figure out a way to win one of them to stay afloat in the postseason race. Then they have to beat the Vanderbilt Commodores at the end of the season.
The Vols face Kentucky amid rumors that Mark Stoops is a candidate for the Florida State Seminoles head coaching job that just opened up with their firing of Willie Taggart. However, they also face a team that is 4-4, coming off a bye and has only lost one game at home, which came down to the last drive.
So this is not a cakewalk. UK has some real talent, and they have surprisingly reloaded on defense. Injuries, particularly at the quarterback position, have begun to limit them. But 8-4 is still on the table with no ranked teams left and their only remaining road game being against Vanderbilt. So they will be ready for UT.
Simply put, they will be ready for Rocky Top. If the Vols are going to win, Jeremy Pruitt needs to be ready for the weapons that have been carrying this team all year. They are largely on defense, where Stoops just reloaded this year, meaning the pressure is once again on Jim Chaney. But Pruitt has to focus on the whole team. And Derrick Ansley’s defense still needs to make big plays.
How can they make sure that happens? Who do they need to focus on? Let’s break that down here. These are the five Kentucky Wildcats the Vols need to watch for when Tennessee football visits Lexington on Saturday.