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By Jordan Abrams, Contributing Writer
The time has come for Kentucky Football to finally make a statement to show everyone who they truly are. The Wildcats travel to Knoxville this weekend to face the Tennessee Volunteers. This game appears to be the matchup of the season for Kentucky fans. This week, Kentucky fans need things to fall in their favor.
Tennessee comes into this game ranked as the No. 3 team in the country. A huge win over Alabama just a couple of weeks ago helped elevate the Volunteers in the rankings. The Wildcats come in Ranked as the No. 19 team in the country.
Many believe this will be a great game. Kentucky opened as a 12-point underdog in this matchup and that line has moved to 12.5. Kentucky is one small step from beating a top-10 Ole Miss team and a bad loss to South Carolina with Will Levis – the possible No. 1 pick – being sidelined due to injury.
Kentucky should be a top-10 team and if so then this would be a different story.
In regards to Tennessee, they have had the best offense in the country all year. Saturday’s game is going to be a battle, so let’s get into the five keys to victory for the Wildcats this weekend.
1. Limit Big Plays by Tennessee
Tennessee is currently averaging over 16 yards-per-completion, which ranks 4th in the country. The Volunteers have an incredible quarterback in Hendon Hooker, who has thrown for nearly 2100 yards this season to go along with 18 touchdowns with only 1 interception.
Tennessee’s offense this season has been led by explosive plays, in large part due to Jalin Hyatt who has caught 40 passes for 769 yards and 12 touchdowns. Five of those scores came in one game against Alabama. Hyatt is averaging an astonishing 19.2 yards-per-catch. If Kentucky has any chance at winning this game, they have to keep the ball in front of them and make Hooker settle for checkdowns. If Hyatt has a big game, the Wildcats won’t have great odds. If Hyatt has less than 100 or so yards, Kentucky has a chance of winning. It’s that simple.
2. Will Levis has to be a Superstar
Will Levis has been incredible this year, playing his way into a top-5 pick in next spring’s upcoming NFL Draft. Levis has thrown for over 1600 yards to go along with 13 touchdowns on the season. This feels like a money-making game for Levis. It’s the kind of game that decides if he’s going to be the No. 5 pick in the draft or are he’s going to be the No. 1 or No. 2 pick.
The expectation is for Levis to be a star on Saturday night and show why he will be the No. 1 pick. This Tennessee defense has struggled against the pass this year, so Levis needs to take advantage of every opportunity he gets. This will be a high scoring game and Kentucky needs to score at least 35 points to be in contention. Veteran wide receiver Tayvion Robinson is back this week and the offensive line is improving, making this a fun watch.
3. Control the Clock
Here’s to hoping Kentucky wins the toss and decides to take the ball. In a perfect world, the Wildcats start the game with one of those traditional 8-minute drives on the back of star running back Chris Rodriguez. Tennessee wants this game to be a high-scoring affair and Kentucky wants this to be as low as possible. The Wildcats average the slowest play-calling in the country and that will be huge in this game. If you can limit Tennessee to 8 possessions or less, that’s a big win. The Volunteers are averaging 17 points in the first quarter this season. Rodriguez has been huge after his suspension and is averaging around 5.5 yards-per-carry in his 3 games with the Wildcats. For Kentucky to win this game, the offensive line needs to continue to block well and Rodriguez needs to have a big game. Rodriguez needs to rush for 150 yards for Kentucky to upset the Vols this weekend.
4. Win Special Teams
This may sound like a weird key to victory, but Kentucky has been terrible in every aspect of special teams this year. The Wildcats have had seven bad snaps between field goals and punts as well as a couple of bad holds on field goal attempts. Their special teams improved against Mississippi State, but to win at Tennessee field position is going to matter and any points they can muster will be huge. Colin Goodfellow has done a great job of flipping the field when he gets a good snap and that will be massive in this game. For Kentucky to win on Saturday, they need to make their kicks and have good snaps overall. If special teams has a better day than Tennessee, Kentucky could wind up with a win over the Volunteers.
5. Contain Hendon Hooker
Hooker has been great this season and it’s not just been by throwing the football, but also making plays with his legs. Hooker has been able to rush for over 300 yards this season to go along with 3 touchdowns. He is very good at getting out of the pocket when it breaks down and making plays happen with his legs. The Tennessee offensive line has also done an amazing job at protecting him, only giving up 11 sacks so far this season. That being said, Hooker does have a tendency to want to leave the pocket when things get a little crowded. Jordan Wright and JJ Weaver are going to be huge in Saturday’s game. Weaver and Wright need to give Hooker the Anthony Richardson treatment. Brad White should have a strong game plan against Tennessee and Hooker, which should lead to the Wildcats playing really well on defense.
Kentucky will absolutely have their hands full on Saturday and they’ll have a heck of a game plan to face the Volunteers. Head coach Mark Stoops, assistant head coach Vince Marrow and quarterback Will Levis want payback for last year. If Kentucky can slow down the clock and keep Tennessee under 35 points, Kentucky should have a chance to win the game. Kentucky wins this game and they look great doing it.
Prediction: Kentucky 38, Tennessee 27
