EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

Overview:

On Saturday, November 10^th, the (7-2) Kentucky Wildcats will be on the road to take on the (4-5) Tennessee Volunteers.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of Kentucky 28.8 – Tennessee 21.1 with an over/under of 49.9.

Lou Holtz and Mark May:

Lou is predicting a final score of Kentucky 21 – Tennessee 17.

Mark is predicting a final score of Kentucky 26 – Tennessee 17.

2018-19 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: Tennessee 205.3 YPG > Kentucky 156.8 YPG

Rushing offense: Kentucky 199.6 YPG > Tennessee 127.7 YPG

Scoring offense: Kentucky 24.7 PPG > Tennessee 24.3 PPG

Scoring defense: Kentucky 15.3 PPG > Tennessee 26.7 PPG

Passing defense: Kentucky 178.6 YPG > Tennessee 207.3 YPG

Rushing defense: Kentucky 133.2 YPG > Tennessee 161.1 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Kentucky 0.0 > Tennessee -0.2

Summary:

Kentucky is (7-2) with wins over Central Michigan, #25 Florida, Murray State, #14 Mississippi State, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, and Missouri.  They were defeated by Texas A&M and #6 Georgia.  Kentucky couldn’t stop the run or get Benny Snell Jr. going in their 34-17 home loss to Georgia last week.  The Wildcats rank 99^th in points per game (24.7) and 8^th in scoring defense (15.3 PPG).  Quarterback Terry Wilson has completed 67% of his passes for 1,214 yards with 6 touchdowns to 6 interceptions.  Wilson is also the team’s second leading rusher with 418 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Kentucky’s offense starts and ends with tailback Benny Snell Jr. who has rushed for 1,008 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season.  Lynn Bowden Jr. is the only wide receiver on the team to eclipse 200 yards on the season.  The Wildcats’ defense ranks 16^th against the pass (178.6 YPG) and 33^rd against the run (133.2 YPG).

Tennessee is (4-5) with victories over East Tennessee State, UTEP, #21 Auburn, and Charlotte.  They were defeated by #17 West Virginia, Florida, #2 Georgia, #1 Alabama, and South Carolina.  Tennessee’s offense again struggled in their 14-3 victory over Charlotte last week.  The Volunteers rank 102^nd in points per game (24.3) and 63^rd in scoring defense (26.7 PPG).  Quarterback Jarrett Guarantano has completed 65% of his passes for 1,571 yards with 9 touchdowns to 2 interceptions.  Tennessee has had trouble running the football averaging just 3.4 yards per carry.  Josh Palmer leads the team in receiving with 414 yards (23.0 YPC) and 2 touchdowns.  The Fighting Irish defense ranks 26^th against the pass (188.4 YPG) and 41^st against the run (142.6 YPG).

Bottom Line:

After a hot start to the season, Kentucky’s offense has averaged just 16.8 points per game over their last five.  Tennessee has won eight of their last ten meetings against Kentucky so this could easily be seen as a trap game.  Tennessee doesn’t have the offensive firepower to score on a Kentucky defense that has ranked in the top 10 all season.  I fully anticipate a low scoring game as Benny Snell Jr. grinds out the tough yards to ice it for Kentucky late.

Kentucky wins 23-14

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