Kickoff time, TV information finalized for No. 7 Tennessee vs. Kentucky

No. 7 Tennessee’s game against Kentucky next Saturday will be either a 7:45 p.m. Eastern Time start at Neyland Stadium and will be broadcast by the SEC Network. The SEC finalized next week’s league schedule Saturday night.

It was announced Monday that the Vols and Wildcats would be either a 7:30 p.m. or 7:45 p.m. ET start and would be televised by either ABC, ESPN or SEC Network.

The game was previously set for the night game window, meaning it would kickoff between 6-8 p.m. ET. The Mississippi State game on November 9 at Neyland Stadium will also be in the night game window.

No. 7 Tennessee vs. Kentucky: How To Watch

Start Time: Saturday, 7:45 p.m. Eastern Time

TV: SEC Network

Radio: WNML-FM 99.1 in Knoxville. The Vol Network radio broadcast can be heard on local affiliates across the state of Tennessee.

Tennessee (6-1, 3-1 SEC) beat Alabama 24-17 Saturday night in Knoxville while Kentucky (3-5, 1-5) lost 24-10 against Auburn Saturday night in Lexington.

The Vols, who were off this week, are in the middle of a run of four straight home games. They beat Florida 23-17 on October 12, before the Alabama win last Saturday, then host Kentucky and Mississippi State in back-to-back weeks. 

The regular-season schedule closes with a trip to Georgia on November 16, the home finale against UTEP on November 23 and the regular-season finale at Vanderbilt on November 30.

The Georgia game is a flex kickoff, with possible start times between 3:30-4:30 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. ET. The UTEP is a 1 p.m. ET start on SEC Network+ and the Vanderbilt game is an early kickoff, between Noon-1 p.m. ET.

A Closer Look: Kentucky

Kentucky picked up its biggest win of the season on September 28, when it upset Ole Miss in Oxford when the Rebels were ranked No. 6 nationally. Since then the Wildcats have lost two straight, losing 20-13 at home against Vanderbilt last week and 48-20 at Florida on Saturday night.  

Brock Vandagriff completed 12 of 26 passes for 165 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions against the Gators. UK ran for 146 yards on 35 attempts and had one rushing touchdown.

Florida took over with a 24-point second quarter, leading 27-13 at halftime with DJ Lagway on his way to 259 yards passing. The Gators ran 44 times for 197 yards and had five rushing touchdowns. 

Kentucky beat Southern Miss 31-0 to start the season, lost 31-6 at home against South Carolina in Week 2, then took then-No. 1 Georgia to the brink in a 13-12 home loss on September 15.  

Vandagriff, a Georgia transfer, has completed 91 of 158 passes (.576) for 1,116 yards with six touchdowns and four interceptions this season. Demie Sumo-Karngbaye leads UK on the ground with 92 carries for 419 yards and four touchdowns. Dane Key is the leading receiver, catching 35 passes for 500 yards and two touchdowns. 

The Kentucky-Tennessee Series

Tennessee is 84-26-9 in a series that dates back to October 21, 1893. The Vols are 3-0 against Kentucky during the Josh Heupel era, winning 45-42 at Kentucky in 2021, 44-6 at Neyland Stadium in 2022 and 33-27 at Kentucky last season. 

The Wildcats have just three wins in the series since 1985. Kentucky won 10-7 in Lexington in 2011, ending a run of 26 straight losses to the Vols, won 29-26 in 2017 and 34-7 in 2020.

Tennessee went 19-1-2 against Kentucky between 1926 and 1951, won 11 straight between 1965 and 1975 and started its streak of 26 in a row with a 42-0 win in Lexington in 1985.