No. 11 Kentucky tries to end 16-game slide at Tennessee
Kentucky hopes for a big game out of Benny Snell (26) when it visits Tennessee on Saturday.
An East Division title and berth in the SEC championship game may be out of reach for Kentucky, but the No. 11 Wildcats still have some rewards awaiting them if they close out the season successfully.
With three games in the regular season and a bowl bid remaining, Kentucky (7-2, 5-2 SEC) is still within range of matching the 1950 Wildcats team coached by Bear Bryant that won a school-record 11 games.
And they will be going for a sixth SEC victory for the second time in school history and first time since the 1977 team went 6-0 in league play when they visit Tennessee on Saturday.
"Like I talked last week, the situation is going to change every week," Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. "This is a different situation. We're going on the road. We're playing Tennessee at Tennessee with our last league game.
"It's very important to us."
First-year Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt is aware of the task his Volunteers (4-5, 1-4 SEC) are taking on.
"We're going to play a really good football team this weekend," Pruitt said. "I followed coach Stoops at Florida State so I know firsthand what his teams are all about. They're going to be very well coached and hard-nosed."
The Vols managed to keep their postseason hopes alive last week with a 14-3 victory over Charlotte, but it was not the dominant performance they were hoping for. They rushed for 60 yards, the fourth time this season they have failed to reach triple digits.
"We didn't block very well," Pruitt said. "We basically got whipped at the point of attack. We had some mental errors that we haven't been having for quite some time.
"We had free guys in the hole. That will get you before you get going. I'd say the health of our running backs is probably like everybody else. It's November and everybody has bumps and bruises. All of our guys will be ready to play."
Leading rusher Tim Jordan (414 yards) managed only 18 yards on four carries. Quarterback Jarrett Guarantano was 16-of-21 passing but for a so-so 172 yards. The good thing: He hasn't thrown an interception since the fourth game of the season when he threw two in a loss to Florida.
"He is really good when he is in rhythm," Stoops said of the Tennessee sophomore. "He's got some really talented wide receivers. He is playing more confident and experience and getting better. He's done some good things."
The Wildcats also had difficulty establishing the run last week in their 34-17 loss to No. 5 Georgia, failing to get to 100 yards for the third time in the last four games. Running back Benny Snell tweaked an ankle in the first quarter but returned and rushed for 73 of the team's total of 84 yards.
He is expected to be ready for the Vols.
"He's a tough guy," Pruitt said. "They do a lot with him, lots of Wildcat, so he can obviously handle what they do. They used him a lot as a freshman, which is the last time I coached against him.
"He's very physical, but he doesn't take a lot of one-on-one hits. He runs through the soft shoulder, so it's tough to get him squared up. We'll have to do a really good job of gang-tackling him."
As was the case with Florida earlier in the year, when the Wildcats snapped a 31-game losing streak to the Gators, Kentucky will be trying to end anther skid against the Vols. The Wildcats haven't won in Knoxville since 1984, losing 16 in a row in Neyland Stadium.
Stoops discounts that as any sort of motivating factor for his team, however.
"I think just beating Tennessee is important to us," he said. "Whether there's a streak involved or not, why would that make a difference to our team? They don't know anything about 34 years ago.
"To be honest with you, they really don't care."
Recent Stories
No. 16 Marquette kicks off Big East schedule vs. St. John's
After an impressive showing during a formidable non-conference slate, No. 16 Marquette kicks off the Big East portion of its schedule Tuesday night when it takes ...
Virginia Tech begins ACC season against Notre Dame
No more preliminaries or cupcakes. No more feeling-out processes.
The basketball teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference will know knock antlers for the next two ...
No. 9 Florida State ready for final non-conference game before ACC play
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- After another long layoff, the Florida State men's basketball team finds itself ready to the page on 2018 on Tuesday with a New Year's Day showdown ...
No. 7 Gonzaga on roll as it faces Cal State Bakersfield
A softening schedule and being home for the holidays have Gonzaga humming.
The No. 7 Zags have raced to leads of 31-2 and 29-1 in their past two games, blowouts ...
No. 4 Virginia wraps up non-conference slate against Marshall
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. -- Playing just their third game over the past couple of weeks during the holiday season, No. 4 Virginia closes out their non-conference schedule ...
Latest Player Notes
How a Wisconsin legend got his German protégé into Badgers pro day
Mar 15, 2024
Marlon Werthmann put his life on hold for the opportunity in front of him Friday at the McClain Center.Werthmann ...
Why former Wisconsin football running back Braelon Allen didn't run the 40 at pro day
Mar 15, 2024
Braelon Allen’s sweat covered his shirt and dripped off his beard as he approached a group of reporters Friday.The ...
How can UW recruit its best class ever? It starts with these five prospects
By Andy Yamashita
Seattle Times staff reporter
Jedd Fisch has lofty recruiting goals at Washington. He didn’t waste any ...
Texas football kicks off spring practice Tuesday. We answer 24 questions for the 2024 team
Things certainly look fresh for the 2024 college football season, especially on the Texas campus.There’s a new conference ...
College Football Playoff: Conferences solve their differences (for now) and agree on general framework for 2026 and beyond
The FBS conferences and Notre Dame agreed on Friday to continue the College Football Playoff beyond the 2025 season, signing ...
Ball security, leadership key as Aztecs look to identify starting quarterback
San Diego State seemingly auditions a new starting quarterback on an annual basis.In the past 12 years, the Aztecs have opened ...
Results and more: A look at what happened at Penn State football’s Pro Day inside Holuba Hall
Most of those at Penn State’s Pro Day Friday were relatively quiet throughout the afternoon’s workouts, but there was one ...
Defense dominates first two weeks of Oregon State spring practice as Beavers ready for 2-week breather
CORVALLIS – Oregon State hit the break of spring practices Saturday, not exactly the midpoint but a good place to assess ...
Dillon Gabriel to have similar input, autonomy as Bo Nix had in Oregon’s offense
Published Mar. 16, 2024, 6:26 p.m.By James CrepeaEUGENE — Dillon Gabriel will have much of the same autonomy as Bo Nix did ...
Two transfers, one underclassman who impressed in Missouri football's spring game
With that, spring camp’s a wrap.Missouri football held its Black & Gold spring game Saturday in front of a healthy crowd ...