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Tennessee football: Ranking all 12 games by difficulty on Vols’ 2022 schedule

By Caleb Calhoun

Smokey and the Volunteer celebrate a touchdown during a NCAA football game against Tennessee Tech at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021.Kns Tennessee Tenn Tech Football
Smokey and the Volunteer celebrate a touchdown during a NCAA football game against Tennessee Tech at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021.Kns Tennessee Tenn Tech Football /
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Oct 3, 2020; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats mascot, Scratch celebrates after a touchdown in the second half against Mississippi at Kroger Field. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 3, 2020; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats mascot, Scratch celebrates after a touchdown in the second half against Mississippi at Kroger Field. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports /

7. Kentucky Wildcats

Saturday, Oct. 29; Neyland Stadium; Knoxville, Tenn.

If you just rank all 12 of Tennessee football’s opponents on paper by how good they are, the Kentucky Wildcats are almost certainly in the top four. They are No. 5 at worst. However, they are still one of the easier teams on the Vols’ schedule and there are a few reasons for that.

Let’s start with the fact that UT owns Kentucky. Sure, they’ll lose one every now and then, but the rules of college football state that the Vols must always own them. In Mark Stoops’ two best seasons since taking over the program, 2018 and 2021, he went 10-3 both times but lost to a UT team that was 5-7 and 7-6 respectively.

Beyond that, the Vols beat the Wildcats on the road last year, and they get them at home this year. That’s obviously going to be somewhat of an advantage. If the two teams are anywhere near each other in terms of talent, you never bet against the Vols to win this one.

The only question is if Rocky Top will be looking ahead. They visit Georgia the week after, and depending on how the season goes, that could be a huge showdown that determines the SEC East. Of course, if UT is in that situation, their season will be going really well at this point, but it could cause them to look ahead. Still, they don’t lose to Kentucky.

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