LEXINGTON, Ky. – No. 17/17 Tennessee hits the road for the second week in a row for a border battle against rival Kentucky in Lexington on Saturday night at 7:45 p.m.
Both the Volunteers and Wildcats will be looking to get back in the win column following losses last week. UT will look to run its winning streak against UK to five straight while also posting their fourth consecutive victory in the series at Kroger Field.
BROADCAST INFO
TV Info
Tom Hart (PxP), Jordan Rodgers (analyst) and Cole Cubelic (sideline analyst) will have the call on the SEC Network for Saturday’s game, which is slated to begin at 7:45 p.m.
Radio Info
UT fans can listen to Tennessee’s official radio broadcast via the Vol Network (Local: WIVK-FM 107.7/WNML-FM 99.1) on 70 stations across the state of Tennessee and the southeast, SiriusXM (Ch. 161 or 191) and the SiriusXM app (Ch. 961). A live audio stream of the broadcast will also be available on UTSports.com and the Tennessee Athletics App. Fans attending the game in Lexington are encouraged to listen to the radio broadcast via the Vol Network Stadiumcast on 101.3 FM.
Voice of the Vols Mike Keith will be joined in the booth by VFL Ramon Foster (analyst) while Brent Hubbs will handle sideline duties for the Vol Network radio broadcast. The Big Orange Countdown pregame show, hosted by Hubbs, begins two and a half hours prior to kickoff at 5:15 p.m. VFL Jayson Swain is also a part of the network’s pregame, halftime and postgame programming.
Tennessee’s official Spanish radio broadcast is available locally on WNML-AM 990 with Carlos Lopez (play-by-play) and J.P. Vasquez (analyst) on the call. That version is also available on UTSports.com and the Tennessee Athletics App.
Volunteer Gameday, a live, one-hour television preview show, will originate live from Bryant-Denny Stadium beginning at 5:45 p.m. The show will be hosted by Keith, VFL Heath Shuler and WVLT-Knoxville’s Brittany Tarwater. Volunteer Gameday will be available on Knoxville flagship TV station WVLT and across the state on the new Tennessee Valley Sports Network (TVSN).
NEED TO KNOW
Bounce Back Opportunity for Big Orange
Josh Heupel, who is 4-0 versus Kentucky while at Tennessee, has lost back-to-back games only three times in his eight seasons as a head coach. He owns a 17-3 record following a loss in the same season, including a 12-2 mark at UT (1-0 this season) and a 5-1 record at UCF. The only two times it occurred at UT was in his first year of 2021 as the Vols dropped back-to-back games to No. 13 Ole Miss and No. 4 Alabama and in 2023 with back-to-back losses at No. 16 Mizzou and versus No. 1 Georgia.
Bishop Leading Surge in Ground Game
Tennessee’s ground game has been hitting its stride in recent weeks, thanks in large part to redshirt-sophomore running back DeSean Bishop. The Knoxville native has rushed for 100-plus yards in back-to-back games for the first time in his career after racking up 123 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries (8.8 avg) against No. 6 Alabama last week. That came on the heels of a career-high 146 rushing yards on an incredible 10.4 yards per attempt in a win over Arkansas the week prior.
Bishop enters this Saturday’s game leading all Power Four running backs and ranking third in the FBS in yards per carry (7.8). He also ranks fifth in the SEC with 604 rushing yards and 86.3 rushing yards per game this season. His seven touchdowns on the ground are tied for third in the league, as well.
Defensive Scores
The Vols’ defense has created numerous big plays this season and leads the Power Four with four defensive touchdowns entering this Saturday’s game. UT has three fumble return scores (vs. Syracuse, vs. UAB, at Mississippi State) and one pick six (at Mississippi State).
Tennessee has tallied 12 defensive touchdowns during defensive coordinator Tim Banks‘ tenure and is 10-0 when recording a defensive score.
Success in One-Score Games
Tennessee has proven to be among the nation’s best in tight games. The Vols are 9-2 in one-score games (decided by 8 points or less) since the start of the 2022 season. UT’s .818 winning percentage during that span leads the SEC and is third in the FBS behind only Coastal Carolina (.909, 10-1) and Michigan (.846, 11-2).
Of those nine wins, four have come against ranked teams – No. 17 Pitt (2022), No. 20 Florida (2022), No. 3 Alabama (2022) and No. 7 Alabama (2024). Three of Tennessee’s four SEC contests this season have been one score games and have come down to the final minutes. The Vols rallied at Mississippi State, dropped an overtime heartbreaker to Georgia and held off Arkansas. The Vols are 10-5 in one-score games during the entire Heupel era (2021-present).
SERIES HISTORY
Tennessee leads, 85-26-9 (on field) | 84-26-9 (NCAA)
The Vols and Wildcats will be meeting for the 82nd consecutive season dating back to 1944. Tennessee has played (120 times) and beaten Kentucky (85 times on field) more than any other opponent in its history.
The Big Orange have won 19 of its last 21 games in Lexington, including three straight. The last four meetings at Kroger Field have been decided by four points or less and a combined 16 points.
ABOUT KENTUCKY
The Wildcats are led by head coach Mark Stoops, who is in his 13th season leading the program. After a 2-1 start to the year, Kentucky has lost three straight entering Saturday’s rivalry contest at Kroger Field.
Redshirt freshman Cutter Boley has taken over the reins at quarterback. He has played in five of the team’s six games, completing 64.2 percent of his passes for 885 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions while also rushing for a score. Six different receivers have caught double-digit passes for the Wildcats, led by Kendrick Law’s 22 receptions for 199 yards and a touchdown. New Mexico State transfer running back Seth McGowan leads the team on the ground with 93 carries for 476 yards and seven touchdowns.
On the defensive side, senior linebacker Alex Afari Jr. paces the team with 39 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Junior safety Ty Brant is second on the squad with 38 tackles and has a team-leading two interceptions while outside linebacker Steven Soles Jr. leads the Wildcats with three sacks.
