Kentucky (4-7) vs. Tennessee (5-6) Preview

Game Facts

Tennessee finished the 2010 season 6-7 including a 24-14 victory over UK.

UK hasn’t defeated Tennessee in Lexington since 1981.

Kentucky lost to Georgia 19-10 last weekend.

Game will be played at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, KY.

Game will be televised on the SEC Network at 12:21pm EST.

Tennessee snapshot

Derek Dooley’s squad enters the game on Saturday needing a victory to become bowl eligible. Last week, Tennessee defeated Vanderbilt 27-21 in overtime. Quite frankly, this Tennessee team is not very good, but they have managed to play teams closer than UK. Some feel if the Cats end the streak against Derek Dooley, he may be handed his walking papers on Monday.

Tennessee has defeated Montana, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Middle Tennessee State and Vanderbilt. They have lost to Florida, Georgia, LSU, Alabama, South Carolina and Arkansas. A victory against UK would mean a 6-6 season. After defeating Vanderbilt in overtime last week, Derek Dooley and his team celebrated hard. Based on Dooley’s comments about Vanderbilt, one can only imagine how he feels about UK.

How great would it be to see UK end the streak, keep the Vols from reaching a bowl and cause Derek Dooley to lose his job? Seriously. That would have to be better than another trip to the Music City or Liberty Bowl. Right?

Here’s the kicker…Tyler Bray is back for Tennessee. The quarterback missed five games during the season, but returned last week. On the season, he has a quarterback rating of 155.65%. He has completed 63% of his passes for 1,768 yards. He has thrown 16 touchdowns compared to four interceptions. Last week against Vandy, he threw two touchdowns and two interceptions. Many feel last week’s game was a tune-up for Bray.

The Vols suffered a blow early in the season when Justin Hunter was injured. He played in three games. Still, the Vols have Da’Rick Rogers lining up at receiver. Joker Phillips has compared him to Terrell Owens. Rogers is big, athletic and has huge hands. He has 65 receptions on the season. The next leading receiver is Mychal Rivera, who has 27 receptions as a tight end. Another freshman receiver to watch is DeAnthony Arnett. He has 21 receptions on the season. The Cats actually recruited Arnett before he picked the Vols.

Tauren Poole is UT’s leading rusher. He is averaging 3.7 yards per carry on the season and has 661 rushing yards. Last week, Poole rushed for 107 yards against Vanderbilt. Marlin Lane and Rajion Neal will also receive carries. One thing UT has shown this season, they will abandon the running game.

UT’s has a solid offensive line. They rank 3^rd in the SEC in sacks allowed. They have only given up 16 sacks compared to UK’s 35. It’s one thing for UK to stop UT’s rushing game, but it’s another to put pressure on Tyler Bray.

Tennessee’s defense ranks 9^th in the SEC allowing 23 points per game. Their rushing and pass defense ranks 7^th in the SEC. They are giving up 351 total yards of offense per game.

Austin Johnson is UT’s leading tackler with 74 stops on the season. He also leads the team with four interceptions. A.J. Johnson is a freshman linebacker who is having a solid season. He ranks No 2 on the team in stops with 71. Malik Jackson leads the Vols defensive line. He has 2.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss. The Cats must find a way to block him on Saturday.

Kentucky snapshot

The Cats enter Saturday’s game needing a win to salvage the season and finish on a positive note. UK hasn’t defeated Tennessee in 26 years. The last two games played in Lexington were close. Tomorrow will be Senior Day. This group of seniors know they can’t play in a bowl game, however they know they can be remembered as the group who ended the streak.

The Cats are still banged up. Martavius Neloms and Ridge Wilson will not play. It also appears Mark Crawford may not be available due to a foot injury. Both Maxwell Smith and Morgan Newton have been recovering from injuries. Smith injured his shoulder last week and Newton has been battling a high ankle sprain for a few weeks now. Given the health of both quarterbacks, I wouldn’t be shocked if both saw action tomorrow. Still, throwing the football may be a challenge.

It appears CoShik Williams and Raymond Sanders will receive most of the carries tomorrow. Sanders was UK’s leading rusher against Georgia with 37 yards on seven carries. Neither CoShik Williams nor Jonathan George was able to have success last week. Regardless, Tennessee’s defense is not as good as Georgia’s. The Cats will try to establish the running game.

La’Rod King had no receptions against Georgia and still remains UK’s leading receiver. Matt Roark trails King by only three receptions on the season. Still, King is UK’s big playmaker. He has seven touchdowns on the season. No other UK receiver has more than one.

UK’s defense played their best game of the season against Georgia. While the Cats didn’t win, they played inspired. Danny Trevathan recorded 17 tackles. A lot of people talk about how much Randall Cobb meant to UK’s program and I believe Danny Trevathan deserves to be in the same conversation with Cobb. He doesn’t get the attention because he plays on defense, but this guy will go down as one of the best in UK history.

Aaron Murray is one of the top quarterbacks in the SEC. UK managed to intercept him twice last week. Tyler Bray threw two interceptions against Vanderbilt. Somehow the Cats must find a way to keep Bray off the field. Both Randall Burden and Anthony Mosely will be playing in their final college games. Hopefully they play inspired and find a way to limit Bray’s success.

Keys to the game

This game should be called “Loser leave town.” Both head coaches appear on the hot seat and need a win. The Vols are playing for bowl eligibility. The Cats are playing for pride. While the Cats struggled offensively last week, the Vols are not the Dogs. Their offense isn’t as potent. UK wants to grind the game out.

Tennessee has a huge mismatch with Da’Rick Rogers. How will UK respond? I expect Tyler Bray to throw the football at least 30 times tomorrow. Will Rick Minter bring pressure or will he drop more guys into coverage? After seeing the Cats last weekend, this is a winnable game. It’s just hard to pick the Cats against the streak.

The Cats will need a huge performance from their offensive line tomorrow. They must run the football with consistency. Based on feedback, I’m not sure either Maxwell Smith and Morgan Newton can stretch the field with injured shoulders. They don’t need to. They simply need to throw the ball enough to keep Tennessee’s defense honest. The Cats will need to force several turnovers to win the football game. Given all the talk around Joker Phillips’ future, I’m concerned this team isn’t as focused as advertised. I hope I’m wrong.

Tennessee 27 Kentucky 20

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