Tennessee football at Kentucky: Vols live stream, game time, TV and radio
At 4-5, Tennessee football will look to move to .500 in Lexington on Saturday at Kentucky. Here is our preview for the UT Volunteers at the UK Wildcats.
With the SEC now allowing alcohol sales inside its stadiums, the Battle of the Barrel has a new meaning. That longtime rivalry resumes Saturday night as Tennessee football visits the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington.
UT enters this game 4-5 overall, 2-3 in the SEC, on a two-game winning streak and having won three of their last four outings. They have also won 32 of their last 34 meetings against Kentucky, including a 24-7 win last year despite their 5-7 record and the Wildcats having their best season in decades.
This year, Tennessee football is trying to rebound from a disastrous 0-2 start that included two home losses to Group of Five programs. A win on Saturday would get them to .500 with two chances to reach bowl eligibility to end the season, at the Missouri Tigers and at home against the Vanderbilt Commodores. That possibility was unthinkable back in September.
Kentucky, meanwhile, was supposed to be undergoing a rebuilding year after losing so many players on defense and losing Benny Snell Jr., their top offensive player. An injury to quarterback Terry Wilson has only made things more complicated.
But the defense hasn’t lost a beat, proving they are a program that reloads under Mark Stoops. And running Lynn Bowden Jr. at quarterback, they have gotten to 4-4 and 2-4 in the SEC with a real chance at nine wins coming off a bye. UK has no ranked teams left on its schedule, and its only road game left is against Vanderbilt.
Their path to that finish starts today. Rocky Top’s path to making a bowl a real possibility has another major hurdle today. So both teams have lots to play for. Here is all the information you need for tonight’s matchup.
Tennessee Volunteers at Kentucky Wildcats
When: Saturday, Nov. 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: Kroger Field; Lexington, Ky.
TV: SEC Network
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Line: Kentucky -1.5
Over/Under: 42
Radio: Vol Network
Listen online: UTSports
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The line for this game started with Kentucky favored by four points, but by the middle of the week, it moved to Tennessee football being favored by one. Then it moved back to Kentucky being favored by one, and now The Action Network has Kentucky favored by one and a half.
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So the fluctuation shows how hard this game is for people to predict. The Vols have been underdogs in two of their last three wins, but they are 4-0 against the spread in their last four games. Simply put, Jeremy Pruitt’s second team has dramatically turned a corner since its horrendous 1-4 start.
Quarterbacks will be a major story for this game. It’s been an issue for the Vols all year, who have started Jarrett Guarantano, JT Shrout and Brian Maurer in different games. Guarantano and Maurer have also gotten banged up at times, but all three are full-go for this one.
Meanwhile, UK moved Bowden, its top playmaker, to quarterback after issues there once Wilson got injured. He rarely throws, but it’s enough to keep the defense honest, and in their last outing, a 29-7 win over the Missouri Tigers, he ran for over 200 yards. Coming off a bye, Stoops may have some tricks up his sleeve.
It’s worth noting the Vols did lose to UK the last time they had a receiver at quarterback, back in 2011. As a result, Pruitt can’t take this offense lightly.
One other big storyline is the opening spot for head coach of the Florida State Seminoles. Stoops, who was Jimbo Fisher’s defensive coordinator there from 2010 through 2012, has emerged as a potential candidate. The distractions from that could weigh on this game.
Next. Tennessee-Kentucky: 10 keys to the game. dark
But Pruitt, who followed Stoops and won a national title for Fisher, also has distractions to manage, as his team has to learn to handle success. Simply put, both Tennessee football and Kentucky have a lot to deal with on Saturday. That makes for a very intriguing matchup.