Posting this extended Q&A with VolQuest's Paul Fortenberry and here are some of the things I've taken away.
-- Tennessee starts hot. Kentucky generally has fallen behind (last game the exception in SEC play). But over the course of games Tennessee has cooled down. A big part of the game may be Kentucky avoiding a major deficit early, or at least being able to keep pace offensive line with Tennessee coming out of the gate. If the game's within good reach late in the first half and into the second, that could favor Kentucky. UK has lost two games that were in the clutch late, but they've won four of those. Tennessee hasn't fared as well late in games with the exception of Georgia.
-- The Cats HAVE to protect Towles. Tennessee's defense had a bunch of sacks against Alabama but they're a team that struggled to generate pressure all year before that. If UK's offensive line and guys in the backfield can give Towles time it will make a major difference, because ...
-- Tennessee's defense is vulnerable to the deep ball. Kentucky should be able to hit on some big plays. Tennessee's not played the vertical passing game with a lot of consistency this year.
-- Jalen Hurd is really, really good. Don't judge him too harshly because of the "modest" production so far. I think if he stays healthy he's going to have a monster second half of the season. For all the talk about Dobbs, I think Hurd may be the one Volunteer to watch very closely.
-- UK should be able to get some pressure. Vols might be starting two freshmen on the offensive line. I think UT will be able to run it some, but the Cats' blitzes should work a lot better than they have at times the last couple of weeks -- against Auburn they didn't go so well because that line was very good, and against Mississippi State it's just tough to blitz Prescott.
-- Tennessee starts hot. Kentucky generally has fallen behind (last game the exception in SEC play). But over the course of games Tennessee has cooled down. A big part of the game may be Kentucky avoiding a major deficit early, or at least being able to keep pace offensive line with Tennessee coming out of the gate. If the game's within good reach late in the first half and into the second, that could favor Kentucky. UK has lost two games that were in the clutch late, but they've won four of those. Tennessee hasn't fared as well late in games with the exception of Georgia.
-- The Cats HAVE to protect Towles. Tennessee's defense had a bunch of sacks against Alabama but they're a team that struggled to generate pressure all year before that. If UK's offensive line and guys in the backfield can give Towles time it will make a major difference, because ...
-- Tennessee's defense is vulnerable to the deep ball. Kentucky should be able to hit on some big plays. Tennessee's not played the vertical passing game with a lot of consistency this year.
-- Jalen Hurd is really, really good. Don't judge him too harshly because of the "modest" production so far. I think if he stays healthy he's going to have a monster second half of the season. For all the talk about Dobbs, I think Hurd may be the one Volunteer to watch very closely.
-- UK should be able to get some pressure. Vols might be starting two freshmen on the offensive line. I think UT will be able to run it some, but the Cats' blitzes should work a lot better than they have at times the last couple of weeks -- against Auburn they didn't go so well because that line was very good, and against Mississippi State it's just tough to blitz Prescott.
