Rece Davis picks Tennessee to win, cover against Kentucky

Rece Davis is making it official as it pertains to Saturday’s SEC showdown between the Tennessee Volunteers and Kentucky Wildcats. Evidently, when it comes to this clash, it’s not personal for Davis, he’s just riding with what the history is telling him.

“This is where my historical bias comes into play. It’s Tennessee against Kentucky, and Tennessee always wins,” Davis said, via the ESPN College GameDay Podcast. “I mean, Mark Stoops — they would build a statue of him, simply because he’s won two times in ten games against the Vols, which is well above average, historically. Tennessee’s won like 35 of the last 38 meetings, on average, over the last half-century, if not longer. Kentucky gets them once a decade. But there are more tangible reasons here in which I favor Tennessee.

“I’m just not convinced that you’re going to be able to run the ball consistently against Tennessee, with the threat of hitting them with the big pass. Which is what Alabama did eventually, loosened up the running game to some degree, and ran the quarterback. Which is not something that Kentucky is not necessarily strong at. They’re strong at running, but not running the quarterback too, and we haven’t seen evidence of a big passing game yet. So you know, Tennessee, I think will still be able to run the ball. Even against that strong Kentucky defense. I’m going to take Tennessee, because I just don’t know that Kentucky has the necessary weapons in the passing game, to set it up enough for Ray Davis to get loose.”

Additionally, Davis recognizes that if the Volunteers fall to the Wildcats, they could be in for a rough stretch to finish out their season.

“This is a strong on strong, good on good. Tennessee is the best running team in the SEC, and Kentucky’s second in the SEC in run defense. So this is a strong suit game. It’s certainly one that would elevate Kentucky’s status, both for bowls in the postseason and perception, and could really put Tennessee in danger of taking a step back, after that great year last year,” Davis said. “If Tennessee follows the loss in Tuscaloosa with a loss to Kentucky, and with Georgia and Missouri I believe still looming, they’re in danger of really taking a significant step back.

“So I’m going to say the Big Orange comes through. It’s a tough, hard-fought, physical game, and I’m going to take Tennessee in that one.”

At the end of the day, it all gets settled on the field, but Rece Davis is throwing his prediction out there for Tennessee versus Kentucky on Saturday. Time will tell if he’s right.