After back-to-back losses, in embarrassing fashion as well, the bye week came at a favorable time for the Kentucky Wildcats. That said, the Wildcats will pick back up in the toughest stretch of their schedule and return to action against a No. 21 ranked Tennessee Volunteer team.
Looking at both teams, they are having somewhat similar seasons. In terms of record, both teams hold 5-2 overall records and 2-2 records in the conference. Big picture, both teams have fallen short of expectations. This Saturday, one team will become bowl-eligible and re-enter the top half of the SEC East.
Let’s take a closer look at the cross-border rivalry matchup and the keys of the game for Kentucky.
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Run Defense
One of the more disappointing things about this year’s Kentucky team has been the defense, especially the pass defense. After five straight seasons of top-5 SEC defenses, Kentucky is currently sitting 9th in the conference in team defense.
Giving up an average of 347 yards on the season, the Wildcats give up an average of 251 yards through the air, ranking only ahead of South Carolina and Vanderbilt. As bad as the pass defense has been, the run defense has been great. In fact, the Wildcats are one of just two teams in the SEC, joining Georgia, giving up under rushing 100 yards per game.
Tennessee’s offense may play into Kentucky’s hands. After getting more than sixty percent of their yards through the air last season, the Volunteer offense is much more focused on the run game. In fact, they run the ball 54 percent of the time, only behind Alabama and Ole Miss in the SEC. In each of their losses, the Vols have been held to under 140 rushing yards.
Will the Passing Game Start to Click after the Bye Week?
In 2013, Mark Stoops inherited one of the worst rosters in all of college football. Now, ten years later, he has raised the program to its highest point of the modern era. That said, there is still more room to grow, and according to Mark Stoops, that starts with the passing game.
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“We want to grow as a program,” Stoops said in his weekly press conference on Monday. “We can sit there and second guess ourselves and look at that last time we took the field and say, ‘Hey, we could sit there and run the ball maybe twenty more times and have a better chance to win the game, but are we really growing as an organization? Are we really winning and becoming that team that we want to become?’”
After investing heavily into the passing game last offseason – bringing back Liam Coen as offensive coordinator and a substantial NIL investment in bringing in Devin Leary and returning the receivers – it is beyond asking when there will be a return. With that said, a bye week could help refocus things, and there is no better time to get things than against your biggest conference rival.
Discipline
It is hard to win games in the SEC, but it is even harder to win games when you are constantly shooting yourself in the foot with penalties. On the season, Kentucky has 54 penalties for 479 yards. Interestingly, that is the second most in the SEC, behind only Tennesse who has 56 penalties for 470 yards.
Over the season, discipline has been an area that the staff has taken accountability for with the media. However, Kentucky’s most recent performance against Missouri was their most undisciplined of the season, with 14 penalties for 122 yards.
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Entering the bye week, the staff and players said multiple times that discipline was an area that “must improve.” Given that this is an intense rivalry, between the two most penalized teams in the SEC, this will be a good test to see if that improvement has taken place.
Time/Date: 7:00 pm ET on Saturday, October 28th, 2023 Location: Kroger Field in Lexington, KY TV Channel: ESPN Announcers: TBA Online Stream:WatchESPN, ESPN+, SEC Network+, or the ESPN app. Radio: Tom Leach and Jeff Piecoro have the UK radio network call on the UK Sports Radio Network. Satellite Radio: XM Channel 203, Sirius Channel 98, Internet Channel 966 Replay:WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings). Rosters:UK | UT Stats To Know: UK | UT
Odds: DraftKings Sportsbook has Kentucky listed as a 3.5-point underdog. ESPN’smatchup predictor puts Kentucky as a moderate underdog, giving the Wildcats just a 29.1% chance to win.
Predictions: TeamRankings has Tennessee coming away with a 27-24 win, with DRatings.com also picking the Volunteers in a 28-24 victory. Looking at history, the Wildcats have only beaten Tennessee three times since 1984. While on paper, it is possible, I am not one to pick Kentucky to beat Tennessee until it becomes more consistent. That said, I predict Tennessee to win 31-21.
The Wildcats bolstered their backfield with the addition of former Oklahoma and New Mexico State running back Seth McGowan on April 20, per KSR’s Nick Roush.
Standing at 5-foot-11 and 215 pounds, McGowan brings size and downhill power to Kentucky’s offense. Coming off a productive season at New Mexico State, he rushed for 823 yards and three touchdowns while adding 23 receptions for 277 yards and three more scores through the air.
A former four-star recruit in the class of 2019, McGowan originally signed with Oklahoma and logged 370 rushing yards, three touchdowns and 201 receiving yards with one touchdown during his lone season with the Sooners.
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On May 7, 2021, McGowan was removed from Oklahoma following his involvement in a legal case in which he was arrested and charged with robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. The charges were ultimately dismissed, but he pleaded guilty to larceny from a person at nighttime in December of that year.
After a stint at NAIA school Texas College in 2022, where he did not see game action, McGowan continued his path back to Division I football, playing six games with Butler Community College before transferring to New Mexico State for the 2024 season.
Now, with his past behind him, McGowan has a chance to turn the page and contribute in a major way to the Wildcats’ offense.
Running backs coach Jay Boulware, who helped Oklahoma sign McGowan out of high school, likely played a role in bringing him to Kentucky, where he is expected to have one year of eligibility remaining.
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Along with Nebraska transfer Dante Dowdell, McGowan could be a part of a versatile and punishing backfield tandem for the Wildcats. While Dowdell brings a physical, downhill rushing style, McGowan’s ability to contribute in both the run and pass game adds a dynamic layer to offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan’s pro-style system, which emphasizes balance and explosive playmaking.
Before he transferred to Kentucky, Jamon Dumas-Johnson was an All-American at Georgia, with waves to at least test the NFL draft after winning a National Championship. However, with the decision to play his last collegiate season as a Wildcat, Dumas-Johnson was a cornerstone piece for the Kentucky defense, finishing the season with 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks during his 11 starts for the team.
His athleticism spoke volumes at Kentucky football’s NFL pro day, where current NFL draft boards now list the linebacker as one of the best athletes at the position and has earned himself a “top 10” feel ahead of the draft. Before pro day, publications such as Bleacher Report had him listed as No. 13 at his position.
Dumas-Johnson proved himself with the highest vertical jump (37.5) and the longest broad jump (10.60) out of the Wildcats who competed in said events, and ran an impressive best 4.50 40-yard dash. At 245 pounds, he also managed to press 16 reps of 225, which could technically be “better” compared to NFL standards, but is impressive nonetheless in hindsight.
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At 23 years old, this linebacker exploits explosiveness, agility and can hawk down any playmaker on the field. Out the 31 NFL teams that attended the event (a Cleveland Browns representative did not attend), one will be getting a prize steal of the draft with Dumas-Johnson.
Alex Raynor had an illustrious season for Kentucky last year, being named to First-Team All-SEC, as a finalist for the Lou Groza award and as SEC Special Teams Player of the Year.
As the record holder for the longest field goal in program history, and arguably one of, if not the, most consistent kickers to ever be a Wildcat, Raynor now looks to the NFL Draft in the next chapter of his book.
Recently, at Kentucky football’s NFL Pro Day on Tuesday, March 11, Raynor kicked off the event with his workout.
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Although he would miss a routine kick for him inside of the 45, he would continue to move back, nailing a 55-yard kick and nearly making a 60-yard kick.
The best moments of his workout came when Raynor would line up behind the UK logo inside of Nutter Field House and would nail a 65-yard field goal.