No. 7 Tennessee rested and eager to avoid letdown against struggling Kentucky

Updated Oct. 31, 2024 6:10 a.m. ET

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The seventh-ranked Tennessee Volunteers want to avoid a repeat performance of what happened coming off their last open date.

The Vols were ranked No. 4, only to lose as a double-digit favorite at Arkansas. Now the Vols are coming off both an open date and a big win over rival Alabama as they host Kentucky on Saturday night.

That Arkansas loss eliminated the margin of error as Tennessee chases a berth in the 12-team College Football Playoff, especially with the calendar about to flip to November. Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said his Vols (6-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) peeking ahead leads to mistakes.

“Good teams continue to get better,” Heupel said. "Our best football is still out in front of us, and we have to go chase that.”

The Wildcats (3-5, 1-5) have lost three straight — the last 24-10 home loss to Auburn — and 10 of their past 12 league games. That's put them in danger of missing the postseason for the first time in nine years.

“There's no excuses,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. “So it is what it is. I don't want to keep on commenting on it. There's no excuses.”

Score in the first half

Tennessee can take a big step toward improving by scoring points before halftime. That would end a three-game drought. The Vols rebounded with 24 points to beat Alabama and needed overtime to beat Florida before that. The slow start was costly against Arkansas.

Tight end Miles Kitselman thinks quarterback Nico Iamaleava found something in the second half against Alabama when the Vols scored on four of seven drives.

“We really saw what he could do, and the coaches are great at pouring into him and pouring into everybody,” Kitselman said. “Just that our ceiling is so high, and we haven’t even touched it yet.”

Vandagriff back

The Wildcats benched Brock Vandagriff for the second half against Auburn after he struggled going 9 of 17 for 120 yards passing and an interception. Gavin Wimsatt came in and primarily ran. He also struggled going 3 of 10 for 34 yards.

Stoops said he's sure Vandagriff may be a bit frustrated and maybe motivated. The coach isn't worried about his starter.

“He's a strong leader and we just need to play well and we need to help and support him with the way we play around him,” Stoops said.

Defending the run

Kentucky gave up 326 yards rushing to Auburn, dropping the Wildcats defense 30 spots to 52nd nationally in 132.4 yards allowed per game. Tennessee has the nation's No. 7 ground game (241.6).

Dylan Sampson also comes in leading the SEC and third nationally with 17 rushing touchdowns. That's one off tying Tennessee's single-season record set in 1929 by Gene McEver.

Who runs the ball?

Kentucky gained just 70 yards on 27 carries against Auburn with backups Jason Patterson and Jamarion Wilcox getting most of the touches in place of injured Demie Sumo-Karngbaye and Chip Trayanum. Backup QB Gavin Wimsatt also ran the ball, but OC Bush Hamdan was hopeful of getting Sumo-Karngbaye and Trayanum back for a needed push after totaling just 224 yards.

Dark mode

The Vols will be wearing all black against Kentucky in this border rivalry. Tennessee has won three straight and is 84-26-9 overall on the field in this series that has been played every year since 1944.

“We've got a great, great challenge ahead of us once again, going on the road to play Tennessee in a great environment, very hostile, very tough environment, night game once again,” Stoops said of his Wildcats' fourth straight kickoff at night.

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