Tennessee coach Josh Heupel says no trophy is needed to make the UK-Tennessee game special. (Tennessee Athletics Photo)
Believe it or not, Kentucky and Tennessee have both never been ranked when the rival played a football game in the last 71 years.
That obviously changes Saturday night in Knoxville when No. 3 Tennessee hosts No. 19 Kentucky at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
“That does surprise me that it’s been 71 years,” said Kentucky coach Mark Stoops during Wednesday’s SEC coaches teleconference. “Hopefully, we’ll both continue to be ranked while we’re playing.”
“For myself, it’s about taking care of our own backyard and our own program. That’s my concentration.”
He did acknowledge that while the Vols are a rival, Kentucky’s biggest rival is Louisville if you ask Kentucky fans.
“I think just because of where we’re located, you hear more about Louisville,” Stoops said. “We’re located in the same state, an hour away.”
Saturday night’s winner used to get to keep a Beer Barrel that was first awarded to the winner annually in 1925 after some UK students decided the game needed a “trophy” for the winner. Kentucky beat Tennessee in Knoxville in 2020 but the Vols won at UK in 2021.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel says he’s never actually seen the Beer Barrel which was retired in 1998 after an alcohol-related accident involving two UK football players.
“I don’t know where it is located if it is located here. The importance of this game, bordering states, understanding the rivalry, I think that is one of the unique things about being here at Tennessee,” he said Wednesday.
“You have different fans; they are going to circle different games; this is one of the games our fans point to every single year.”
Actually, the beer barrel is under a tool box in the Tennessee equipment room according to a story by WVLT News.
“I don’t know that it (a trophy) matters for the two teams that are on the field. I have been in games where there has been one and hasn’t been one,” Heupel said. “It doesn’t change the importance of the game and the rivalry itself. I think for fan bases, it is obviously something to point to for sure.”
