October 31st at Kentucky
Daniel: Let me be the first of a zillion writers to say that it will be a “scary” night for Kentucky when the Vols head up to Lexington on Halloween. I, however, don’t think it will be the dominant performance we saw from the Vols against Kentucky in 2014. While the Vols were clearly the superior team in that one, Kentucky was also completely out of gas that week after playing a tough second half of the schedule with no bye. UT was able to snowball that into the 50-16 win. Playing at Kentucky against a quietly good Patrick Towles at quarterback and a roster that Mark Stoops has improved will make this game more competitive. UK puts up much more of a fight and this one maybe even goes into the fourth quarter, but the Vols pull this one off on the road. Winner: Tennessee
Houston: I don’t like this game for the Vols. Kentucky has improved, they won’t be nearly as beaten down as they were when they came to Neyland last year, and Halloween games are always a mystery in the SEC. How is Tennessee’s health after a tough stretch of conference games? What does Kentucky’s season look like at this point? I don’t think the Vols lose this game, but I do think it has the potential to be an ugly win. The key word there is “win.” Get in, and get out with a check in the ‘W’ column. Winner: Tennessee
Reed: Stoops has that program headed in the right direction and this game, situated between Bama and South Carolina, could be a bit of a trap. Muddling matters further, Tennessee’s last four trips to Lexington have been decided by an average of 4.5 points – with two overtimes in there to boot. Combine that with Halloween night and a resurgent (by their standards) UK program? And you still get a Vol win. Winner: Volunteers
