Kentucky football comes to Knoxville on Saturday night, riding a three-game losing streak and desperately searching for any positive momentum to turn its season around in a building that’s been a house of horrors for the Wildcats.
Each week, Rocky Top Insider will take you behind the scenes with a question and answer with a media member who covers Tennessee’s opponent.
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What is the mood around the Kentucky program at the moment? Is it a real possibility that Mark Stoops and Kentucky decide to go their separate ways?
“It’s certainly not good. Things looked bleak after the South Carolina loss in September, but playing Georgia close and upsetting Ole Miss had most fans back on the bandwagon. There were real hopes leaving Oxford Kentucky would be 6-2, ranked and hoping to get in the fringe of the playoff discussion when this game rolled around, so the fact they lost all three games against Vanderbilt, Florida and Auburn stings even worse. It feels like the group of fans who are ready to move on is nearing a majority, but long-time Kentucky fans are still aware there’s no guarantee the next coach can even duplicate Stoops’ success, let alone take another step forward. There’s no chance Kentucky fires Stoops since his buyout is around $44 million in December, but it’s at least worth noting that Stoops is now a year older than his brother Bob was when he walked away from Oklahoma and has been very vocal about being worn down by all the non-coaching responsibilities that come with the job now.”
What’s been the difference for Kentucky in the Georgia and Ole Miss games compared to the rest of the season?
“Injuries have not helped recently, especially on defense. The defense was at peak form in those games, so the offense’s limitations were not as magnified. Against Ole Miss, Kentucky’s offense made the most of its opportunities, whereas in each of the last three games they had a possession inside the opponent’s 5-yard line that came away with no points. This team just cannot afford to squander the few scoring chances it gets.”
What have been the biggest issues for Kentucky’s offense this season?
“It starts with the pass protection, which has improved some since South Carolina but is still below average. That appears to have affected Brock Vandagriff, who has locked in on receivers and held onto the ball for too long when he does have time to throw. There is no bell cow running back on this roster in the way Stoops’ best Kentucky teams have had. At times the offense has been able to sustain drives between the 20s, but the red zone performance has been abysmal. Some of that is because they haven’t been able to convert obvious running situations, but the play-calling has been questionable in those situations too.”
How would you assess Kentucky’s defense? What are its strengths and weaknesses?
“When healthy, it’s a legitimate top-25 unit, but their best cornerback has missed four straight games and two of the top three linebackers were sidelined for the second half against Auburn. It also seems like the pressure of having to play close to perfect because of the offensive limitations has finally taken a toll. At its best, Kentucky is good at limiting big plays (though that has been an issue the last two weeks) and stopping the run. The depth has been exposed though, and little has gone right the last three games.”
What does Kentucky have to do to pull the upset in Knoxville?
“Figure out how to duplicate the Ole Miss performance despite all the negative momentum. Maybe the injured starters all come back this week on defense to help, but there’s just no reason for optimism on offense right now as they ponder a quarterback change. The fact that Tennessee isn’t putting up video game offensive numbers this year at least gives some hope, but realistically Kentucky probably needs multiple self-inflicted mistakes from Tennessee to have a chance.”
Score Prediction?
Tennessee 35, Kentucky 7
