When was the last time Kentucky football beat Tennessee?

One of the oldest rivalries in the SEC is back again this weekend when Kentucky heads to Knoxville to take on Tennessee. These teams have played games against each other for as long as each has had football programs. Overall, that's 119 games since 1893. They have played every single season since 1919. They played twice in 1944 to make up for a weird season in 1943, so we will count on that to keep the streak alive.

The history of this matchup is not favorable at all for Kentucky. Tennessee has won 84 of the 119 times, and Kentucky has only won 26 times (there are also 9 ties). This means that the Volunteers win 70% of the time this matchup is played. The Wildcats have only won four times in the last 40 matchups.

We need some good news, or you may as well just click off this article right now. Here it is: Kentucky won in 2020 by a blowout under Mark Stoops with a 34-7 victory. Now, of course, that was four years ago, but only once in recent history has Tennessee dominated this game. It has been close in six of the last eight matchups, with one blowout going to Kentucky and one to Tennessee.

I get it. This is like finding a dollar bill in the middle of the parking lot and claiming you found treasure. The reality is that Tennessee is having a pretty historic year on the good side while Kentucky has been falling apart since their Ole Miss game. This looks to be setting itself up to be another blowout that favors the Volunteers. Not good.

However, can Stoops pull another rabbit out of his hat and beat a team that no one expects them to beat? That's what happened against Ole Miss. And Stoops has done it before with Tennessee, so let's hope we can see it again.

The game will take place on Saturday, November 2, at 7:45 pm EST in Knoxville, Tennessee, and will air on the SEC Network.