Kentucky football: Prediction for every game on Wildcats 2022 schedule
By Eric Thorne
Kentucky at Tennessee is THE most important game for Wildcat’s success
Venue: Neyland Stadium
City: Knoxville, TN
Overall Matchup Record: Tennesee leads the series 82-26-9
Last meeting: Tennessee won 45-42 in 2021
Simply without any argument the color, any true Kentucky fan despises more than any other is – Orange. The only reason you should ever wear that dreaded color is if that is your high school color.
October 29, 2022, is the date that has been circled on every calendar in the Bluegrass and Volunteer state. Not only is it for bragging rights between the two bitter rivals it’s the game that the winner will have the best shot at dethroning Georgia for the SEC East title.
Tennesse dismantled Ball State on Thursday 59-10 to open the year but has to play at Pitt next week, then hosts Akron before a brutal stretch hosting Florida, going to LSU, and then welcoming in Alabama. How they survive will determine the Vols’ season. They do play Tennessee Martin the week before Kentucky.
There is no denying that Tennessee has simply dominated this series 82-26-9 including a stretch from 1996 till 2010 where the Vols won every game. Kentucky broke that streak in 2011 by a score of 10-7, then won 29-26 in 2017, and 34-7 in 2020.
Last year Kentucky gave one away losing 45-42 in Lexington which simply was hard to recover from. Stoops has had his chances to grab more wins while the Vols were down this past decade, but they are surging again under Josh Heupel who has 14 starters back from his 7-6 team.
Quarterback Hendon Hooker, carved up the UK defense last fall to the tune of 316 passing yards and four touchdowns. Another game where Kentucky’s returning defense should have plenty of redemption material to work with.
If Kentucky indeed does have one loss prior to the game then this becomes a MUST win for Kentucky as the season winds down despite three more likely wins.
As much as I hate to type this and just hoping Kentucky was unbeaten coming into this game Tennessee will be tough to beat at home and notches another victory in the series despite a valiant effort to keep pace. Final score Tennessee 42, Kentucky 38.