5 Things You Need to Know About the Tennessee Volunteers

It is football time in the Bluegrass once again. Did that bye week feel a little extra long? That probably is what happens when left to stew on back-to-back frustrating performances. Kentucky’s loss at Georgia wasn’t unexpected, but the complete wire-to-wire beatdown was a major disappointment. Then, the loss to Missouri was an all systems failure. What once looked like a home route turned into one of the more embarrassing losses of the Coach Mark Stoops era. Now, the Wildcats are tasked with picking themselves up off the mat against the rival Tennessee Volunteers. The 26-game losing streak is over, but the Volunteers have still won nine of the last 11 matchups. This won’t be an easy spot to the right the ships.

Tennessee will enter Kroger Field with a 5-2, 2-2 record and ranked #21 in the AP Poll. Somewhat similar to Kentucky’s most recent loss, the Vols are coming off a loss at Alabama that turned quickly. Despite leading 13-0 midway through the second quarter and 20-7 at the half, Tennessee allowed 27 unanswered points to the Crimson Tide and fell 34-20. Their other loss came in week three when they dropped a 29-16 matchup at Florida. Winning in Lexington under the lights on Saturday night would mark the first road victory for the Volunteers of the season.

As always, we have all of your pregame needs right here on Kentucky Sports Radio dot com for the 7:00 p.m. kickoff on ESPN between the Kentucky Wildcats (5-2, 2-2) and the #21 Tennessee Volunteers (5-2, 2-2). If you haven’t already, two must reads are Adam Luckett’s Scouting Report and Freddie Maggard’s goals for the game. Those are the in-depth, football-nerd previews. For those in search of a more surface level look at what to expect on Saturday night, you are in the right place. Let’s dive on in to five things you need to know about the low down, dirty, snitches.

Disappointing Season for Tennessee’s Quarterback

Kentucky fans are no stranger to unrealized expectations when it comes to their transfer quarterback. In this way, we can empathize with fans of the Tennessee Volunteers. There was arguably no more explosive player in college football last season than Hendon Hooker. He was the latest in a line of signal callers that had led Caoch Josh Heupel’s offense to six consecutive Top 20 finishes in yards per attempt. However, that run will come to an end with former Michigan transfer Joe Milton III.

On paper, the super senior has some decent numbers. He is 140-223 for 1,535 yards and 12 touchdowns to four interceptions. That is good for nearly 220 passing yards per game. However, Milton is averaging under seven yards per attempt and has the second worst explosive pass rate in the Southeastern Conference. Milton’s 6.8 yards per pass comes in at 91st nationally. Meanwhile, the Volunteers have really struggled on third down and in the red zone. They have converted on third and fourth down just 40.2% of the time. In the red zone, they’ve found pay dirt just 54.5% of the time. That’ll get you beat against stingy defenses like Florida and Alabama. In theory, Coach Brad White’s bend, don’t break unit should present similar challenges on Saturday night.

Dangerous in the Rushing Attack

What the Tennessee Volunteers may have lacked through the air so far this season they’ve mostly made up for on the ground. This is a four-pronged rushing attacking featuring three running backs and quarterback Joe Milton III. Jaylen Wright is the best of the bunch and receives the majority of the workload. The junior has gone for 610 yards on 91 carriers. His 26 rushes of 10 or more yards equates to a 28.6% explosive run rate which is the best in the SEC. Both Jabari Small and Dylan Sampson have factored into the equation heavily as well. The two have combined for eight rushing touchdowns, Sampson has six of those, and each average over five yards per carry. This is an explosive backfield.

Aside from the traditional rushing attack, Tennessee has benefited from the agility of Joe Milton III. His size at 6’5″ and 235 pounds makes him an imposing force on the ground and the Volunteers have utilized that part of his game this season. Milton has 47 rushes for 319 yards and four touchdowns. He must be accounted for in the red zone especially. Kentucky’s defense is going to have their hands full keeping the Vols from marching down the field via the running game.

Finding Weapons on the Outside

The Tennessee Volunteers suffered a tough injury in their wide receiver room, but have found production elsewhere. Redshirt senior Bru McCoy suffered a lower-body injury in week five that has relegated him to the sidelines. While his injury was obviously unfortunate, it has served as a launching point for slot receiver Squirrel White. The sophomore speedster has been the clear number one option for Joe Milton III. He is leading the team with 39 receptions and 416 yards. Meanwhile, Ramel Keyton has been a redzone target with three touchdowns and 19 total catches for just over 300 yards. Running back Jaylen Wright will factor into the passing game as well as he averages over three receptions per game.

Volunteers Dominant Defensive Front

In recent years the Tennessee Volunteers have won games with their offense. However, this season, it has been more of a defensive story in Knoxville. This unit has produced at a Top 15 level across the board allowing less than 20 points per game while creating havoc behind the line of scrimmage. The Big Blue Wall will face a challenge under the lights at Kroger Field on Saturday.

Tennessee’s success defensively starts with their front four down linemen. James Pearce Jr. is the best of the bunch creating plenty of havoc off of the edge. The true sophomore ranks second in the SEC in both quarterback pressures (33) and sacks (7) while also coming in at fourth in tackles for loss (10). His ability to live in opposing backfields has put offenses behind the chains consistently. On the other edge, Tyler Baron has been similarly effective producing five sacks of his own. Devin Leary is going to face pressure from all sides on Saturday night.

Experienced Secondary

There are 130 games worth of college football experience in the Tennessee Volunteers secondary among just their three primary guys. Tamarion McDonald, Jaylen McCollough, and Wesley Walker are going to man the back end of the Tennessee Volunteers defense. Another redshirt senior, Kamal Hadden, has been highly productive at cornerback as well.

Kentucky’s passing game has been a borderline embarrassment through seven games this season. Especially when you compare results to expectations there is no other way to describe it as a major disappointment. However, Saturday night presents a new opportunity for Devin Leary to get right and the Wildcats wide receivers to cure their problem with drops.