I recently rewatched the Tennessee win over Kentucky (it takes me a long time to rewatch losses) from last year. Despite Tennessee's coaches and players doing a flawless job exploiting matchup problems and keeping our defense confused, at no point in the contest did I feel like Tennessee was the better team, or that Tennessee could stop us. Add to that two critical missed calls--one in the first half that led to a UT TD and the other the facemark no-call on the final UK possession--and I felt like UK was 10-14 points better than UT.
Immensely frustrating, therefore, to lose.
My main question entering the season is whether UK and other SEC teams will be able to adjust to what Heupel throws at you. Purdue did well when they had a month to prepare for their bowl victory. Will Kentucky be able to off a bye week? Specifically, what must Kentucky do differently?
I'm not quite sure what to think of Tennessee. While I think their offense is somewhat gimmicky, it's still very difficult to stop if you've not seen it and their recruiting is getting better so they will soon have better personnel to execute it. On the other hand, that Briles offense gets an above average number of 3 and outs, which puts a ton of pressure on their already shaky defense.
In the grander scheme of things, beating UT can be the difference between a very good and a GREAT season.
Immensely frustrating, therefore, to lose.
My main question entering the season is whether UK and other SEC teams will be able to adjust to what Heupel throws at you. Purdue did well when they had a month to prepare for their bowl victory. Will Kentucky be able to off a bye week? Specifically, what must Kentucky do differently?
I'm not quite sure what to think of Tennessee. While I think their offense is somewhat gimmicky, it's still very difficult to stop if you've not seen it and their recruiting is getting better so they will soon have better personnel to execute it. On the other hand, that Briles offense gets an above average number of 3 and outs, which puts a ton of pressure on their already shaky defense.
In the grander scheme of things, beating UT can be the difference between a very good and a GREAT season.