Tennessee Football opens as big road favorite at Kentucky

Tennessee Football opened as an 8.5-point road favorite for Saturday night’s game at Kentucky, according to released by BetMGM, with the total set at 52.5 points. The Vols and Wildcats are scheduled for a 7:45 p.m. Eastern Time start on SEC Network.

Tennessee (5-2, 2-2 SEC) lost 37-20 Saturday night at Alabama while Kentucky (2-4, 0-4) list 16-13 in overtime at home against Texas.

The Vols are 3-4 against the spread this season, covering a 13.5-point spread against Syracuse, a 39.5-point spread against ETSU and as a 3.5-point underdog against Georgia.

Tennessee has failed to cover spread in last four games

Since then, Tennessee has failed to cover a 38.5-point spread against UAB, a 7.5-point spread at Mississippi State, a 10.5-point spread against Arkansas and an 8.5-point spread at Alabama.

The over has hit in five of the seven games this season.

Tennessee beat Syracuse 45-26 in Week 1 in Atlanta, beat ETSU 72-17 in Week 2, lost 44-41 in overtime against Georgia in Week 3 and beat UAB 56-24 in Week 4 before the 41-34 overtime win at Mississippi State three weeks ago. The Vols beat Arkansas 34-31 at home last week.

Texas 16, Kentucky 13 (OT)

Kentucky lost 16-13 in overtime against Texas at home Saturday night. The Wildcats scored 13 points in the second half to force overtime against the Longhorns, after trailing 7-0 at halftime. 

UK quarterback Cutter Boley completed 31 of 39 passes for 258 yards and an interception and ran for 45 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Seth McGowan ran 14 times for 45 yards and caught seven passes for 68 yards. 

Kentucky has lost three straight games and four out of the last five during its 0-4 start in SEC play. The Wildcats at Georgia and at South Carolina before the loss to Texas. The season started with a 24-16 win over Toledo, a 30-23 loss at Ole Miss, then a 48-23 win over Eastern Michigan.

Tennessee leads all-time series vs. Kentucky 84-26-9

Tennessee is 4-0 against Kentucky under Josh Heupel, winning 45-42 in Lexington in 2021, 44-6 in Knoxville in 2022, 33-27 at Kentucky in 2023 and 28-18 at Neyland Stadium last season. 

The Vols lead the all-time series 84-26-9, including a 26-game win streak between 1985 and 2010 and an 11-game win streak between 1965 and 1975. 

Kentucky is 2-14 over its last 16 SEC games, dating back to the 2023 season. 

Mark Stoops in 69-77 (28-66 SEC) in his 13th season at Kentucky. He won 10 games with the Wildcats in both 2018 and 2021, winning the Citrus Bowl both years, but is 19-24 since then.