KSR GAMEDAY: Kentucky at Tennessee, Acaden Lewis Decision Day

Mark Stoops’ Kentucky football program is on the road to Knoxville, looking to avoid its first four-game losing streak since the Cats dropped five in a row back in 2015. Hopes are not too high, but BBN could receive some great basketball recruiting news this afternoon. More on that later, but first, let’s dig into tonight’s game.

Tennessee is going into Dark Mode, blacking out Neyland Stadium to create one of the most electrifying atmospheres in college football. They’re 4-0 in Dark Mode games and they’re entering this one off a bye.

The Volunteers aren’t the team you’re used to seeing under Josh Heupel. They’ve struggled with slow starts, held scoreless in the first half of three straight games. Rather than hitting on big plays through the air, they’re leaning on running back Dylan Sampson and a dominant defensive front that ranks in the top five nationally.

On the visitor’s sideline, things aren’t going well. We don’t know who will be starting at quarterback after the Cats looked for Gavin Wimsatt to provide a spark during a scoreless second half against Auburn. The once dominant defense was lit up through the air at Florida, then gashed on the ground against Auburn.

Things are trending in the wrong direction for Mark Stoops’ Kentucky football program. It could go from bad to worse Saturday night at Neyland Stadium, a venue where the Wildcats have only won once since 1984.

Kentucky vs. Tennessee: How To Watch, Listen

• Kickoff: 7:45 p.m. ET
• TV: SEC Network (Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers, Cole Cubelic)
• Watch college football games live – try Fubo for free! Click HERE NOW.
• Local Radio: UK Sports Network (Tom Leach, Jeff Piecoro, Dick Gabriel)
• AM: 840 WHAS, 630 WLAP
• FM: 98.1 WBUL
• Online: iHeart Radio
• Sirius XM: 374 (UK); 158 or 191 (Tennessee)
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

You can also keep up with the game and chat with other fans on our game thread on KSBoard, with Nick Roush and Adam Luckett providing updates from Neyland Stadium and the rest of us from home.

Border battle coming tomorrow ⏳ pic.twitter.com/82HTMRL5uP

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) November 1, 2024

Saturday Gameday Schedule

11 am — Doors Open at KSBar and Grille
4:30 — KSR Pregame Show at KSBar
5:30 — Cat Walk
7:45 — Kickoff on SEC Network

Sign up for the KSR Newsletter to receive Kentucky Wildcats news in the most ridiculous manner possible.

The Trends Do Not Bode Well for the Wildcats

Tennessee is a 17.5-point favorite over Kentucky with a total of 45.5. The Vols have dominated this series over the years and it’s indicative in the Las Vegas trends.

The Vols are 5-2 against the spread (ATS), and the under is 4-0 in conference games. Kentucky is 4-4 ATS this year (2-0 ATS as a dog) with a 6-2 under record. Tennessee is 20-0 outright and 14-6 ATS as a home favorite under Heupel. The Vols are 25-7 ATS in this series in over the last three-plus decades. Josh Heupel is 3-0 ATS against Kentucky. Mark Stoops is 1-9-1 ATS against Tennessee.

Lengthy Kentucky Football Injury Report

Not only are the Cats losing games, they’re losing starters. J.J. Weaver and D’Eryk Jackson are the latest defensive starters added to the lengthy injury report. Kentucky is getting thin at cornerback. Maxwell Hairston will miss his fifth straight game, Jantzen Dunn is out, and DJ Waller is listed as probable.

It’s not a whole lot better on the other side of the line of scrimmage. Chip Trayanum is out yet again. TE Jordan Dingle will miss today’s game and former Volunteer OT Gerald Mincey will not be available for his return to Neyland Stadium.

Today’s Uniform Combination

Kentucky is trying to shine a little light during the Tennessee blackout. While the Vols wear all-black uniforms, the Cats are bringing their white jerseys, white pants, and chrome helmets to Neyland Stadium. The last time they wore this uniform, the Cats took down a rival on the road ranked in the Top 10. That was last year’s season finale at Louisville. Hopefully, there’s still some good Mojo in this uniform because the Cats could certainly use it.

College Football on TV

Air Force at No. 21 Army	Noon ET	CBS
Virginia Tech at Syracuse	Noon ET	The CW
Minnesota at No. 24 Illinois	Noon ET	FS1
Memphis at UTSA	Noon ET	ESPN2
Duke at No. 5 Miami	Noon ET	ABC
No. 19 Ole Miss at Arkansas	Noon ET	ESPN
No. 4 Ohio State at No. 3 Penn State	Noon ET	FOX
Northwestern at Purdue	Noon ET	Big Ten Network
Vanderbilt at Auburn	12:45pm ET	SEC Network
Texas Tech at No. 11 Iowa State	3:30pm ET	ESPN
No. 17 Kansas State at Houston	3:30pm ET	FOX
Arizona at UCF	3:30pm ET	FS1
North Carolina at Florida State	3:30pm ET	ACC Network
Florida vs. No. 2 Georgia (Jacksonville)	3:30pm ET	ABC
UCLA at Nebraska	3:30pm ET	Big Ten Network
No. 13 Indiana at Michigan State	3:30pm ET	Peacock
No. 1 Oregon at Michigan	3:30pm ET	CBS
Navy at Rice	4:00pm ET	ESPN2
UMass at Mississippi State	4:15pm ET	SEC Network
Arizona State at Oklahoma State	7:00pm ET	FOX
USC at Washington	7:30pm ET	Big Ten Network
Wisconsin at Iowa	7:30pm ET	NBC
No. 10 Texas A&M at South Carolina	7:30pm ET	ABC
Louisville at No. 11 Clemson	7:30pm ET	ESPN
Kentucky at No. 7 Tennessee	7:45pm ET	SEC Network
No. 18 Pittsburgh at No. 20 SMU	8:00pm ET	ACC Network
TCU at Baylor	8:00pm ET	ESPN2

Will Acaden Lewis Pick Kentucky?

One of Mark Pope’s first recruiting priorities was Acaden Lewis. The fifth-ranked point guard in the 2025 recruiting class is announcing his decision this afternoon and there will be three hats on the table: Kentucky, Duke, UConn.

The Cats got the final official visit from Lewis, who was in town during his birthday for Big Blue Madness. That visit appears to have gone well. Kentucky is the clubhouse leader entering decision day, according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM), with multiple picks for the Wildcats. On a day that could be grim for Kentucky football fans, there could be some great news on the way for the Kentucky basketball program.