Kentucky football: five keys to Wildcats upsetting Tennessee

4. Put pressure on Hendon Hooker in the pocket

Tennessee goes as their leader, and the Heisman-hopeful quarterback goes. Hendon Hooker not only can beat teams with his arm but also with his legs. While he does not look to run often, he can be effective in extending plays and picking up vital 3rd downs. Kentucky runs majority zone coverage on defense which allows a lot of eyes to be on Hooker at all times. This could help out with limiting some of those big runs he had against Alabama and Florida.

Kentucky does struggle in getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks, and that will need to change if they want to win this game. One of the things that pressure can do to the Tennessee offense is make Hooker react quicker.

Under pressure this year, Hooker has completed 50 percent of his passes while throwing for under 200 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Taking away the deep shot and the first read could cause disruption in the Vols’ offense which is centered around timing. We have not seen Kentucky be disruptive, but with two weeks to work on the game plan, I think we see a different defensive approach.