Kentucky cannot hide from how poorly it played at Mississippi State, Mark Stoops said Monday at his weekly press luncheon, but the Wildcats are looking to move on from the humbling loss as quickly as possible.

That means shifting focus to Tennessee, which visits Kroger Field on Saturday for a matchup of teams coming off identical 45-7 beatings. While UK was being humbled amid a sea of rattling cowbells in Starkville, Miss., the Volunteers took it on the chin at No. 1 Alabama.

For the first time in recent memory, Kentucky (5-2, 2-2 SEC) enters the matchup as the favorite. Tennessee (3-4, 0-4 SEC) has not scored an offensive touchdown since Sept. 23 against UMass, leading to speculation about head coach Butch Jones' job security on Rocky Top.

Stoops is warning his team to ignore what is said about the Vols this week. Look no further than how they have fared against UK's common opponents, he said.

"If you look at the games, they played Florida close, we played Florida close. They played South Carolina close, we played South Carolina close. They had an opportunity to beat South Carolina, we all saw that. If one play had gone one way or another, they could beat South Carolina," Stoops said.

"We know what Tennessee can do... I expect Tennessee to come in and play exceptionally hard just like they did this past week against the exceptional Alabama team. We expect them to come in with great pride and play very well just like we did a year ago."

Kentucky dropped a 49-36 decision last year in Knoxville, losing for the 31st time in the last 32 meetings against the Vols despite rushing for 443 yards and out-gaining UT 635-599.

Neither team's offense is performing that well this season. After boasting one of the best rushing attacks in the nation in 2016, UK has slipped to 10th in the SEC this year at 135 yards per game. UT, meanwhile, is an uncharacteristic last in scoring offense (19.6 ppg) and total offense (289.7 ypg) after losing star quarterback Joshua Dobbs to the NFL.

The Cats are seeking to regain the balance that helped them reach a bowl game a year ago. To do that, they need to get the running game jump-started. Sophomore standout Benny Snell Jr. had only 18 yards on seven carries in the loss at Mississippi State.

Stoops noted UK cannot simply give up on the running game. Senior quarterback Stephen Johnson struggled last week, completing only 13 of 28 passes for 117 yards and two interceptions.

"We’re not built to drop back and throw the ball all over the yard," he said. "... In general, you have to have balance. Eighty percent of SEC football games are won when you out-rush your opponent by one yard.”

Kentucky has won nine of its last 10 games when out-rushing the opponent, Stoops added.

Defensively, he's seeking better performance on "competitive plays" this week. Stoops said that applies to the entire team, but he's keeping a close eye on his secondary, which he noted lost all 10 of their competitive plays on film review.

"That's not acceptable," Stoops said.

NOTES:

* Landon Young remains No. 1 at left tackle on this week's depth chart despite exiting the Mississippi State game with what initially looked like a serious leg injury. Stoops said Monday that tests on Young's leg had come back favorable so far and that the sophomore is considered "day to day" this week.

* The biggest depth chart change this week saw freshman defensive tackle Quinton Bohanna promoted to No. 2 at nose guard with senior Matt Elam dropping down. "Quinton is just active," Stoops said. "He’s active and we have to get more production out of that position... We can’t get single-blocked at the nose guard position all day and have winning defensive football. Can’t do it. We have to get some production."

* Stoops revealed on his weekly radio show Monday night that redshirt freshman running back A.J. Rose sustained a "little injury" at the end of the Mississippi State game and was not likely to be available this week against Tennessee. Rose was coming off the most playing time of his UK career, carrying the ball nine times for 26 yards.