KSR Today: A loss to Tennessee and the start of basketball season

Welp, that was ugly…

Let’s just go ahead and get the bad stuff out of the way first. Kentucky football got completely outplayed and outcoached on Saturday night in Knoxville. The No. 3 ranked Tennessee Volunteers looked every bit the part of a national title contender and took it to the ‘Cats from the very opening drive. Kentucky actually managed to keep it relatively close early on, trailing just 7-6 in the first quarter. But as we know by now, UK would fail to score the rest of the way. UT blew out the ‘Cats 44-6 in one of the program’s worst losses in years. Kentucky had an excellent chance to spoil Tennessee’s special season, but fell spectacularly short of that goal and may have very well ruined its own chance of doing something similar.

The obvious next question revolves around what happens next. Kentucky is 5-3 on the year and now just 2-3 in the SEC. Luckily, UK’s next two opponents are Missouri and Vanderbilt, which combine for a 7-9 overall record. An eight-win season is still very much on the table — even if that will fall short of most preseason expectations — but it was the way Kentucky lost on Saturday that has the vibes at a season-low (lower than the loss to South Carolina). Tennessee is on its way to the program’s best season in 20 years; Kentucky had zero hope of slowing it down.

If you so choose, read up on everything KSR wrote about following the action. We’ve also got Rapid Reactions plus everything the coaches and players had to say postgame. Check it all out below.

• Kentucky Overwhelmed in 44-6 Loss to Tennessee
• Kentucky dealing with several injuries following loss to Tennessee
• What’s Next for Kentucky After Embarrassing Loss to Tennessee
• Kentucky lays mammoth egg in primetime opportunity
• Mark Stoops explains what went wrong and his postgame message to the team
• Execution Errors on Defense Led to Big Plays for Tennessee Offense
• Three Plays: Second quarter blunders sink Kentucky

KSR’s Rapid Reaction

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Mark Stoops postgame press conference

Watch the latest Mark Stoops press conference on the KSR YouTube Channel.

Kentucky offense press conference

Kentucky defense press conference

At least we’ve got some hoops!

Sure, losing to Tennessee in football is never fun. But beating up on an inferior basketball team from three divisions lower is much more entertaining! That will ideally be the case on Sunday night when Kentucky men’s basketball hosts the first of two exhibition games to prepare for the 2022-23 regular-season opener, which is set for Nov. 7 against Howard.

Kentucky will take on Missouri Western State, led by head coach/former UK manager Will Martin, along with assistant coaches/former UK players Jon Hood and Perry Stevenson. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST inside Rupp Arena and will be broadcast live on the SEC Network.

Volleyball earns a sweep

No. 20 Kentucky volleyball opened the weekend against the Auburn Tigers with an easy sweep at home on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats, 13-6 (8-2 SEC) on the season, made light work of Auburn with a 3-0 victory after a six-day break between games. Kentucky is now second in the SEC with a chance to tie top-ranked Florida with another win over the Tigers later on Sunday.

Check out Ian Alvano’s full recap from Saturday’s match here. Today’s match starts at 1:00 p.m. EST on the SEC Network+ in Lexington. Fans are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes for the event.

Home sweeps ftw! pic.twitter.com/MwIRhBGm0W

— Kentucky Volleyball (@KentuckyVB) October 30, 2022

‘Cats in the NFL: Week 8

9:30 AM (ESPN+): Broncos @ Jaguars (J. Allen, L. Fortner, C. Peters) | LONDON
1:00 PM (FOX): Panthers (P. Hoskins, M. McCall) @ Falcons (J. Ali)
1:00 PM (FOX): Bears @ Cowboys (Q. Bohanna, K. Joseph)
1:00 PM (CBS): Dolphins @ Lions (J. Paschal, L. Stenberg)
1:00 PM (FOX): Cardinals @ Vikings (Z. Smith)
1:00 PM (CBS): Raiders @ Saints (L. Young)
1:00 PM (CBS): Patriots (L. Bowden) @ Jets (B. Echols)
1:00 PM (CBS): Steelers (B. Snell) @ Eagles
4:05 PM (CBS): Titans (B. Dupree, L. Johnson) @ Texans
4:25 PM (FOX): Commanders (J. Davis) @ Colts
4:25 PM (FOX): 49ers @ Rams (TJ Carter)
4:25 PM (FOX): Giants (W. Robinson) @ Seahawks
8:20 PM (NBC): Packers (R. Cobb) @ Bills

Monday Night Football

8:15 PM (ESPN): Bengals (Y. Corker) @ Browns