By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops isn’t expecting anything different from Tennessee when the two border rivals meet Saturday.
The Volunteers have a different quarterback and have been more reliant on the running game this season but Stoops knows the Volunteers will have the same offensive philosophy they have employed in coach Josh Heupel’s two seasons in Knoxville.
“I think it’s very similar in a lot of ways. I think, (last) week, you saw (quarterback) Joe (Milton) really throw in some good deep passes and very accurate, maybe one drop in a critical moment,” Stoops said. “They’re the same in that they can really be explosive at any moment.”
The Volunteers have scored 40 or more points in the previous two meetings against the Wildcats and romped to a 44-6 win a year ago in Knoxville. In the last meeting in Lexington two years ago, Tennessee edged the Wildcats 45-42.
Kentucky defensive coordinator Brad White is aware of Tennessee’s potential and expects his defense to produce a better showing than it did in a 38-21 loss to Missouri two weeks ago,
“The thing you would like to happen is, in those big games, that’s where you need your stars to shine,” White said. “Our playmakers need to make plays but they can’t make them out of the realm of what we’re trying to do. That’s when big plays happen.”
Kentucky (5-2, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) has beaten the Vols (5-2, 2-2) twice in the past six seasons, but offensive coordinator Liam Coen said the Wildcats need to continue to leverage the series.
“I think these guys know that we’ve got to win some of these to make this a true rivalry,” Coen said. “It is a rivalry, we believe that in terms of our guys, and Tennessee being so close. It’s on us to go out there and take something.
“They’ve had the upperhand the last couple of games. We’ve got to come out and prove that we can beat these guys, that we can beat Tennessee and that we can play to our standard. It’s really about us. Competitiveness, rivalry, that’s great, but our kids are focused on getting better. How do we take the next step and go beat a really quality opponent?”
Coen also added the team’s offense, which scored 14 points in the first quarter and seven the remainder of the game against Missouri, also must produce points more consistently.
“I think that we’re ultimately trying to score as many points as possible, however, that happens,” Coen said. “It’s not really a slow the game down mentality. They do what they do, we do what we do, and we’ve got to go execute at a high level.”
Kentucky is coming off losses to Georgia and Missouri, while the Volunteers dropped a 34-20 loss at Alabama despite leading 20-7 at halftime. The Crimson Tide scored 27 unanswered points in the second half.