KSR GAMEDAY: Kentucky Hosts Tennessee After Pope's Cats Pulverize Purdue
The Battle for the Beer Barrel has been a one-sided border rivalry game. Kentucky has just three wins over Tennessee since 1984. Can Mark Stoops create some magic at Kroger Field?
Kentucky fans haven’t left the stadium with smiles on their face in a long time. The Wildcats’ last SEC victory at home was against Florida on Sept. 30, 2023. Kentucky has not scored two offensive touchdowns in an SEC game since the upset at Ole Miss last fall.
The good news? This Tennessee defense is vulnerable. The Vols are allowing over 30 points per game and rank No. 115 in defensive success rate. Tennessee’s projected starting cornerbacks have not played yet this year. For the Cats to have a chance to take down this high-octane offense, Cutter Boley will need to take another step forward following an outstanding performance against Texas.
Kentucky vs. No. 17 Tennessee: How to Watch/Listen
- Kickoff: 7:45 p.m. ET
- TV: SEC Network (Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers, Cole Cubelic)
- Local Radio: UK Sports Network (Tom Leach, Jeff Piecoro, Dick Gabriel)
- AM: 840 WHAS, 630 WLAP
- FM: 98.1 WBUL
- Online: iHeart Radio
- Sirius XM: 106 or 190 (UK)
You can also follow along on the KSR LIVE BLOG, which will start a few hours before kickoff, and join the conversation on KSBoard.
Kentucky vs. Tennessee Gambling Angles and Trends
Tennessee opened as a 9.5-point favorite on BetMGM. It got bet down a couple of points before settling in at Tennessee -8.5. The total is 54.5. The Vols are 26-7 ATS in this series in over the last three-plus decades. Kentucky is 7-1-1 ATS in its last nine games versus ranked opponents. Tennessee is 10-1 ATS in the last 11 games in this series played in Lexington. Mark Stoops is 2-9-1 ATS against the Vols. UK is 12-6 ATS as a home dog since 2016.
[Learn more about the Tennessee Volunteers by reading the KSR Plus Scouting Report]
Saturday Gameday Schedule
11:00 am — Doors Open at Keeneland and KSBar and Grille
1:00 pm — Post Time for Race 1 at Keeneland
3:30 pm — The KSR Pregame Show
4:30 pm — LexTran Shuttles Begin Moving
5:30 pm — Cat Walk
6:15 pm — Kroger Field Gates Open
7:45 pm — Kickoff on SEC Network
The Cats are Rocking Black Uniforms
Kentucky did not share the uniform combination until almost 11 PM ET on Friday night, but better late than never. With Halloween around the corner, Kentucky is wearing its all-black uniforms against the Vols. Tennessee will provide the ideal contrast with all-white uniforms at Kroger Field.
Kentucky Put Purdue in a Blender
Purdue came to Rupp Arena with a No. 1 next to their name, but it was Kentucky who looked like the better team from start to finish. Even without two projected starters, Jaland Lowe and Jayden Quaintance, Kentucky completely controlled the exhibition game.
The Cats set the pace by running the floor early and often, outscoring Purdue 15-5 in transition. Purdue has some tall trees in the paint, but Kentucky out-rebounded them by a dozen and had 14 second-chance points. The Cats hit three times as many threes, going 9-29 (31%) from three-point land.
Top 10
- 1Hot
Cats demolish Purdue
When do we play the hard teams?
- 2Hot
'96 comparison
Pope is thinking '96 after Purdue win
- 3
Highlights
Let's go ahead and relive that
- 4Hot
Enjoy it, BBN!
Yes, you can celebrate the big W
- 5
Lessons Learned
from the W over Purdue.
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It wasn’t just one man leading the way for the Wildcats. Kentucky had 10 players log at least 16 minutes. Three scored in double figures, led by Jasper Johnson‘s 15 points on 6-10 shooting (3-7 3FG). Kentucky spread the wealth, and that’s why Mark Pope compared this team to his 1996 National Championship group.
“I was sitting in the office with Lee [Anne] just after I met with the team, and just looking at the box score, and I was like, ‘Man, this feels like my ’96 team in terms of this point distribution. Can you do that in ’25, ’26? Like, can we actually pull it off where we have guys who care so much about each other and so much about Kentucky that they’re willing to do this? We’re going to see. But if we can do it, it’s a really fun way to play. Man, it’s pretty special.”
More from the Kentucky Win
It’s okay to get overly-excited, even if it was just an exhibition
Takeaways from the Victory
What led to Jasper Johnson’s big game
Why Chandler was Pope’s MVP, even though he only scored 2 points
Purdue Stars Share why Kentucky is so Tough
Mark Pope’s Postgame Presser
Highlights from the Kentucky win over Purdue
Matt Painter says the loss “could’ve been worse”
Noah, Moreno, Garrison Discuss the W
Recapping everything that happened at Rupp Arena
The Blue Jays Shellack the Dodgers
The Dodgers were -210 favorites to win their second straight World Series. L.A. only gave up four runs in the entire NLCS. The Blue Jays got in that in one swing during a crazy sixth inning in Toronto.
The Blue Jays hit in a couple of runs before Addison Barger delivered a pinch-hit Grand Slam. They went yard one more time in a 9-run inning that blew the Dodgers out of the water. It looked like we were heading for a lopsided World Series, but the Blue Jays proved homefield advantage certainly has its advantages. Game 2 is tonight at 8 PM ET on Fox.
Kentucky VB Beats Mississippi State
No. 3 Kentucky hit the road and took down Mississippi State in four sets. The Wildcats messed around in the second set, but wouldn’t let the Bulldogs hit 20 in the other three (25-13, 18-25, 25-12, 25-18). Reigning SEC Player of the Year Brooklyn DeLeye had 21 kills to help the Cats stay unbeaten in SEC play. Kentucky’s road trip continues to Alabama, tomorrow at 3 PM ET on SECN+.
College Football on TV
| No. 18 USF at Memphis | Noon | ESPN2 |
| Northwestern at Nebraska | Noon | FS1 |
| Rutgers at Purdue | Noon | Big Ten Network |
| UCLA at No. 2 Indiana | Noon | FOX |
| No. 8 Ole Miss at No. 13 Oklahoma | Noon | ABC |
| Syracuse at No. 7 Georgia Tech | Noon | ESPN |
| No. 16 Virginia at North Carolina | Noon | ACC Network |
| SMU at Wake Forest | Noon | The CW |
| Kansas State at Kansas | Noon | TNT |
| App State at Old Dominion | Noon | ESPNU |
| Auburn at Arkansas | 12:45pm | SEC Network |
| San Diego State at Fresno State | 3:30pm | FS1 |
| No. 11 BYU at Iowa State | 3:30pm | FOX |
| No. 15 Missouri at No. 10 Vanderbilt | 3:30pm | ESPN |
| No. 4 Alabama at South Carolina | 3:30pm | ABC |
| Minnesota at Iowa | 3:30pm | CBS |
| Baylor at No. 21 Cincinnati | 4:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Oklahoma State at No. 14 Texas Tech | 4:00pm | ESPNU |
| No. 22 Texas at Mississippi State | 4:15pm | SEC Network |
| Stanford at No. 9 Miami | 7:00pm | ESPN |
| No. 25 Michigan at Michigan State | 7:30pm | NBC |
| No. 3 Texas A&M at No. 20 LSU | 7:30pm | ABC |
| Boston College at No. 19 Louisville | 7:30pm | ACC Network |
| No. 17 Tennessee at Kentucky | 7:45pm | SEC Network |
| Houston at No. 24 Arizona State | 8:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Colorado at Houston | 10:15pm | ESPN |
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