Kentucky football is gearing up for one of the more marquee matchups in the long history of their rivalry with Tennessee. On Saturday, it will be No. 9 Kentucky against No. 16 Tennessee down in Knoxville as the Wildcats will be looking to continue trending towards wrapping up a playoff birth.

Heading into such an important matchup, Will Stein went into detail about the challenges that this Tennessee team presents. Starting with their offense, Stein says it all starts with the run game for the Vols.

“I have a ton of respect for Josh Heupel, what he’s been able to do as a head coach and a play caller,” Stein said. “I think he’s one of the elite offensive minds in college football. Everywhere he goes, every year, he’s had success on offense. He really does play to his personnel, and you know, I think they’re really playing into DeSean Bishop, their running back number 18, second in the SEC in rushing. He’s got 957 yards on the year, 11 touchdowns, a dynamic runner, strong, physical, and fast. Talented wideout group, number four, number 14, both cause issues. They utilize the tight ends this year. They have a giant offensive line and two quarterbacks who won them games in George McIntyre and Faizon Brandon.”

Then, there’s the defense, which is one of the best in the SEC and the best at getting to the quarterback, creating many sacks and tackles for loss.

“They have a very talented group. It’s a top 20 defense in about every major statistical category on defense. They’re number one in sacks, number two in TFLs. (Xavier Gilliam) is an unbelievable defensive lineman, a bona fide first round pick. They have really big, fast, athletic edge players. Secondary, (Dejuan Lane) is the leader in the back end for sure. Their linebacker core is all veteran. (Amare Campbell) came with Coach Knowles from Penn State, as did (Gilliam). Their nickel, Quay Moss, fantastic football player. (Jeremiah Telander) plays kind of an outside backer, hybrid role. Really good, smart, has the intangibles. They have eight seniors on defense, so it’s a veteran group. I think that is a big piece in how they’re able to operate cleanly.”

Tennessee is going to present all these challenges along with a rocking environment on Saturday. The Cats Coverage crew will enter enemy territory this weekend within the walls of Neyland Stadium, drowning in orange and looking for a road win. Follow along so you don’t miss out!