Kentucky football (2-4, 0-4 SEC) is set to host its boarder rival No. 17 Tennessee (5-2, 2-2 SEC).
What to Watch-
Both teams come in walking similar paths, but towards two very different destinations.
Kentucky is looking to get its first SEC win at home in over 760 days, whereas the Vols are looking to keep their playoff hopes afloat.
One of the biggest stories to watch is the status of Kentucky running back Seth McGowen, who was banged up last week and listed as questionable on the first injury report.
The Wildcats come into this contest after a deflating 16-13 overtime loss to then No. 21 Texas.
The physical game has led to a very lengthy injury report for Kentucky, which is one of the last things it needed at this point in the season.
Tennessee comes into Lexington also off a loss as it fell to then No. 6 Alabama on the road 37-20.
A silver lining for the Vols could be that they have taken the last four meetings between the two programs.
However, Tennessee has not played well on the road this season, which could bode well for the Wildcats.
Offense-
Cutter Boley has cemented himself as QB1 this season and has shown growth in each start he makes.
Boley is coming off his best start of the season last week where he threw for 258 yards and rushed for 45 yards along with a rushing touchdown.
On the year, the redshirt freshman has thrown for 885 yards, rushed for 0 yards and thrown four interceptions along with four touchdowns.
If McGowen can go, it will be a huge boost to the offense as he leads the rushing attack with 476 yards and a team-leading seven touchdowns.
However, if the lead back can’t go, it’ll be up to Dante Dowdell and James Patterson leading the ground game against the Vols.
Dowdell has run for 274 yards and one score, while Patterson has ran for 103 yards along with a touchdown in his limited action this season.
Kendrick Law leads the receiving core with 199 yards and a touchdown followed by Willie Rodriguez who has 173 yards and a score of his own.
Looking at overall offense, Kentucky is 13th in the SEC when it comes to yards and points per game with 342.2 and 22.5 respectively.
Joey Agular leads the Vols at quarterback with 1,948 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Desean Bishop is the lead back for the visitors as he’s accumulated 604 yards on the ground and found the endzone seven times.
Tennessee brings a trio of wide receivers that are viable threats as each have more than 400 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Chris Brazzell II is the leader of the group with his team-high 602 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
Braylon Staley sits at second on the list with 523 yards receiving and three touchdowns.
Mike Matthews rounds out the group with his 455 yards and two scores.
When it comes to yards per game, Tennessee is just behind Arkansas for the conference lead at 511 yards per game. However, the Vols are first in the SEC with 44.1 points per game on offense.
Defense-
Flipping over to the other side of the ball, Kentucky is had a bounce back week against Texas, where the defense only allows eight first downs in regulation and overtime.
For the Vols, it’s been a rough season defensively, which has allowed teams to stick around in games or get further ahead after getting a lead like Alabama did in week eight.
Both teams are fairly close in defensive metrics when it comes to yards and points allowed per game when compared to the rest of the SEC.
Kentucky is 13th in the SEC by allowing 365 yards per game, and the Vols are one spot behind by allowing 390.9 yards per game.
The rankings stay the same as Kentucky is 13th with 25.8 points allowed per game and Tennessee is 14th with 30.4 points allowed per game.
What do the odds say?
History is in the favor of the Vols as they lead the all-time series 84-26-9 and are 47-3 in the last 50 meetings between the two teams.
Just like the all-time series, ESPNBET has the Vols favored to win by 8.5 points. According to ESPN’s matchup predictor, Tennessee is given a 75% chance to win the game and Kentucky just 25% to upset its rivals.
The 120th meeting between the border rivals will take place on Saturday, Oct. 25, with kickoff set for 7:45 ET. The game will air live on SEC Network.
