Cats Illustrated rounds up the latest game discussion, takes, and predictions on Kentucky-Tennessee on the eve of game in Knoxville.
Two of the three writers polled at Athlon Sports are predicting a win for the Volunteers, which are 5.5-point favorites against the 'Cats.
Rob McVey provides a much more detailed game breakdown at Athlon.
"Kentucky is better than its 1-2 record suggests, and the Wildcats' defense brings some momentum into Saturday's matchup following a monster performance against Mississippi State. Kentucky also has a multifaceted run game that could keep Tennessee's defense off-balance with dual-threat quarterback Terry Wilson leading the way. Conversely, the Kentucky passing game is a major weakness and it will be difficult for the one-dimensional Wildcats to produce explosive plays against a solid Tennessee defense," McVey writes.
"Meanwhile, Tennessee's offense has thrived on explosive plays so far this season. And while Kentucky is stout defensively, the Wildcats are not capable of putting up the same kind of fight as Georgia. There may not be a defense in all of college football that can bring that level of resistance. The Vols may not shine bright on offense this Saturday, but they will be highly motivated and put together enough big plays to come out on top, as they extend their home winning streak against the Wildcats to 18 games."
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report projects a 27-14 Tennessee win.
"Tennessee has won 17 consecutive home games against Kentucky dating back to the mid-1980s, and each of the last six meetings in Knoxville were wins by double digits for the Volunteers. Look for Tennessee to bounce back from a brutal second half against Georgia to keep that trend going. The Wildcats finally got into the win column with a great defensive effort against Mississippi State, but it's hard to trust that offense on the road against an above-average defense," Miller writes.
The betting website PicksWise.com makes the claim that "if you remove that Mississippi State win (where Kentucky finished with an unsustainable six interceptions), there’s really no reason to feel good about Kentucky in this matchup," before saying it's odd the line isn't more slanted toward UT.
Pete Fiutak of College Football News forecasts a 27-23 Tennessee win.
"Tennessee has figured out the Kentucky thing over each of the last two seasons. It got run over last year, and won. The D pitched a gem in 2018, and won," Fiutak writes.
"The Vols will come up with just enough offensive balance to counteract the Kentucky time of possession advantage. Guarantano will have another nice – and unappreciated – day in a workmanlike win."
From more of a Tennessee angle, Evan Winter of Rocky Top Talk also sees a UT win.
"Look for the Vols to attack this struggling secondary. There will also be extra emphasis on the ground game after last week’s abysmal performance and the offensive line will be looking to make its presence felt, as well.
"Tennessee loses this game if it allows Kentucky to do its thing, which is allowing Wilson to make plays with his legs and attack the seams. The Vols have struggled zone reads, RPOs, and just throws over the middle in general. If they don’t get their act together, Kentucky could certainly exploit them to the point where Tennessee loses the game.
"But Tennessee is the better team and it will show through by the end of the day."
At VolQuest.com right here on the Rivals.com network Rob Lewis predicts a 30-17 victory for Jeremy Pruitt's team.
"I like this match-up for Tennessee precisely because Kentucky is so one-dimensional and it feels like Pruitt has a handle on handling that kind of attack," he writes. "Additionally, the Vols have been pretty salty against the run for the most part and are deep in the front seven. It’s pretty much the same offense that the Vols have handled pretty well in Pruitt’s first two seasons, including in 2018 against what was one of the all time best Kentucky teams in Pruitt’s first season."
