5 Things You Need to Know About the Tennessee Volunteers

Let’s try this again. The Kentucky Wildcats have knocked on the door of a couple impressive upsets at Kroger Field this season. Ole Miss came to Lexington in Week Two and escaped with a 30-23 victory. The Rebels are now ranked #8 in the country. Then, last week, the Wildcats took Texas to overtime before losing a 13-10 heartbreaker. The Longhorns are now ranked #22 in the country. Will this be the week that the ‘Cats knock the door down and pull off an upset? If they do, it will be just the third win over the Tennessee Volunteers since 1985. The Vols, ranked #17 this week, won 26 straight against the ‘Cats from 1985-2010 and have won 11 of 13 since the streak was snapped.

History would certainly indicate that Kentucky has a tall task ahead of them on Saturday night at Kroger Field. A growing, ugly streak of home Southeastern Conference losses doesn’t inspire much hope either. However, Coach Stoops and company does seem to play their best football at Kroger Field against ranked opponents. The added fuel of it being a rivalry game could be the juice Big Blue Nation needs to get the Wildcats over the hump under the lights in Lexington. If not, we could be facing a coaching change square in the face. Rumors are starting to circulate that a negotiated buyout could be in place and moving on from Coach Stoops could be imminent.

As always, Kentucky Sports Radio’s football experts Nick Roush and Adam Luckett have spent the week providing in-depth breakdowns of the Wildcats’ opponent. 11 Personnel and the KSR Football Podcast have you covered as well if you prefer preparing for Saturday’s game via audio. However, for those looking for a more surface level preview you have come to the right place. Here are five things you need to know about the Tennessee Volunteers.

Tennessee Features an Elite Offense

The Tennessee Volunteers are no stranger to high-powered, explosive offenses. Coach Josh Heupel has called the plays for four straight Top 25 offenses in Knoxville after posting three consecutive Top 15 offenses while at UCF. He certainly knows what he is doing on the offensive side of the football. This season the Volunteers have one of the most explosive offenses in college football.

Tennessee ranks second in the scoring department nationally putting up 44.1 points per game. They feature a Top 10 success rate (49.8%) while ranking in the Top 20 of yards per play, yards per drop back, havoc rate allowed, and 20+ yard plays. Their ability to protect the quarterback and create explosive plays keeps this offense moving at a steady clip. Kentucky will have to limit those big plays and try to put the Volunteers behind the chains in order to keep up. It will likely take a couple of opportunistic turnovers as well. Tennessee does have 10 turnovers in seven games. Due to the high-powered nature of this offense it is not as good of a matchup for the ‘Cats.

Strong Quarterback Play Leads the Volunteers Offense

A big reason for the Tennessee Volunteers offensive success has been quarterback Joey Aguilar. A change at quarterback was unexpected this season, but Nico Iamaleava departed the program the night before Tennessee’s spring game. Iamaleva ultimately ended up at UCLA and Coach Heupel returned the favor by taking Aguilar who had committed to the Bruins. The senior quarterback spent his first two college seasons at Appalachian State putting up some monster numbers. Aguilar threw for 6,760 yards and 56 touchdowns at Appalachian State.

What Aguilar was doing in the Sun Belt has translated well to the Southeastern Conference. His ability to throw the ball downfield has really opened up this Volunteers’ offense. The senior quarterback is 14-30 on throws of 20+ air yards and has connected on several big plays including eight touchdowns on those deep ball throws. Overall, Aguilar has completed 64.6% of his passes through seven games and is just shy of 2,000 yards with 15 touchdowns. However, while the explosiveness is there, turnovers have been an issue. Aguilar has six interceptions and four fumbles in seven games after amassing 24 interceptions and 21 fumbles in 25 career games at Appalachian State. A couple of takeaways could be the equalizer that Kentucky needs on Saturday night.

Four Primary Pass-Catching Options

Redshirt freshman Braylon Staley has quickly emerged as Joey Aguilar’s favorite target this season. The speedy slot receiver has 41 catches on 65 targets for 523 yards and three scores. Staley’s speciality is yards after the catch. Aguilar gets it to him in a hurry and let Staley make plays with his feet. Meanwhile, Chris Brazzell II is the favorite downfield target. The 6’5″ wideout leads the Southeastern Conference with seven touchdown receptions and has 602 yards on 39 catches. He is the big play threat through the air for the Tennessee Volunteers.

Mike Matthews got his feet wet as a true freshman last season and is now having a breakout sophomore campaign. He has reeled in 29 catches for 455 yards and two touchdowns. Miles Kitselman has a big role in the offense as well at tight end. He has 22 receptions for 222 yards this season and went for 97 yards on six catches against the ‘Cats last year. There are plenty of weapons to go around for Coach Heupel to scheme for and Joey Aguilar has executed at a high-level through seven games this season for the Volunteers.

Rushing Attack Sets Up the Passing Game

You can expect the Tennessee Volunteers to throw the ball a bunch. However, the rushing attack is still successful in its own right. The Volunteers enter Saturday night’s game ranked 10th nationally in rushing success rate. What they do on the ground serves as a set up for their vertical passing game. Kentucky cannot afford to get gashed both on the ground and through the air.

DeSean Bishop has played his way into becoming Tennessee’s featured running back as a redshirt sophomore. The Knoxville native has rushed for 604 yards on 77 carries with seven touchdowns. His 7.8 yards per rush leads the Southeastern Conference. Bishop is excellent at making people miss. Meanwhile, the Volunteers also will hand it off to Star Thomas and Peyton Lewis. Thomas is a Duke transfer that has racked up 354 yards and four touchdowns on 65 carries. He also has two receiving touchdowns. Lewis is more of a short yardage back. The true sophomore has recorded five touchdowns and 218 yards on 49 carries. Joey Aguilar will factor into the running game some as well.

Tennessee Has Faced Defensive Struggles

While the Tennessee Volunteers score as many points as anyone in college football, they also give up a ton defensively. They rank 110th nationally allowing 30.4 points per game. That number has jumped to 36.5 points per game allowed in Southeastern Conference play. Opponents have 35 plays of 20+ yards, stay ahead of the chains consistently, and dominate once they reach the red zone. Tennessee had a Top 10 defense in 2024, but that certainly hasn’t translated to 2025. Kentucky will have to capitalize on some explosive plays and then convert red zone opportunities into seven points.

Senior edge rusher Joshua Josephs is the player to watch up front. He has recorded 27 tackles, six tackles for loss, four sacks, and 20 pressures in 244 snaps this year. The Big Blue Wall must contain Josephs and give Cutter Boley time to dial up some explosive plays. Returning junior linebackers Arion Carter and Jeremiah Telander have collected 61 and 39 tackles respectively. They are the mainstays at the second level of Tennessee’s defense. Finally, in the secondary, the Volunteers are missing two starting cornerbacks. After a strong true freshman campaign, Boo Carter has 23 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, three pass breakups, and two forced fumbles through seven games this season at nickel.