Tennessee football vs. Kentucky: 10 keys for Vols and Wildcats

4. Field position

Max Duffy of the Kentucky Wildcats is the third best punter in the SEC through three weeks, averaging 48.07 yards per punt. Three of his eight attempts have gone 50 or more yards, and three have been pinned inside the 20-yard line. Given the way Mark Stoops builds this team, Duffy is a major weapon who could definitely give UK an advantage.

On the other side, though, Tennessee football had a great performance from Paxton Brooks last week. Brooks was the Ray Guy Punter of the Week, and for the year, while only averaging 44 yards a punt, he has pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line on nine of his 14 punts. Four of his have gone over 50 yards, and he’s done his job to flip field as well.

Then there is the return game for the Vols. Velus Jones Jr. is third in the SEC in yards per kickoff return at 25.8, and while Rocky Top has only returned one punt this year, Eric Gray returned it for 20 yards. To be fair, 20 yards per punt return would be third in the SEC, and Kentucky is fourth at 11.5 yards per punt return on two returns. They are averaging 21.25 yards per kickoff return.

Simply put, both teams have solid punt games and solid return games. Field position will be huge in this one as both teams want to control the clock and win with elite defense. The one who takes the best advantage of such situations, including flipping the field with elite punts and coming away with some big returns, will be in great shape.