Tennessee's Alontae Taylor: "You don't lose to Kentucky."
Coming off back-to-back losses against Ole Miss and Alabama, Tennessee firmly believes its string of misfortune will come to an end against Kentucky in Lexington. After all, the Volunteers don’t lose to the Wildcats, right?
Except for the program’s 34-7 blowout loss at home last season, of course.
“This game is personal.”
In a mid-week press conference previewing the matchup, Tennessee cornerback Alontae Taylor said they made it clear when he first arrived in Knoxville that losing to Kentucky was a major no-no. As a result, the program is taking this week’s game to heart after getting embarrassed at home last season.
“It means a lot. One thing I (learned when) I came in was you don’t lose to Kentucky. We didn’t have that happen last year. … This game is personal.”
A bye week jab?
Taylor says he’s seen the talk on social media about how frustrated Kentucky is with its recent road loss at Mississippi State and the team’s plan to close out the season undefeated. Unlike other teams, though, he says Tennessee is ready to prove it can find success after a bye week.
A not-so-subtle shot at Kentucky’s blowout loss coming after the bye week? Probably.
“I’ve seen a lot of things on social media about how they’re angry, this and that, they’re going to win out these last however many games they have,” the senior cornerback said. “You know, we’re coming off a bye week, we’re ready to play. We’re going to show the world that teams can actually have success after a bye week.
“A lot of teams come off a bye week and fail a little bit. Not us.”
Taylor, a preseason All-SEC Third Team honoree, has picked up 36 tackles, five pass deflections, one interception and one forced fumble in eight games this season.
He played in just eight games for the Volunteers last season, missing the team’s loss against Kentucky due to a hamstring injury. Taylor last suited up against the Wildcats in 2019, recording two tackles in the team’s 17-13 win in Lexington.
He’s clearly confident leading up to Tennessee’s trip back to Lexington on Saturday. Let’s just leave him with this until then.
Tennessee Hate Week has officially begun.
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