Tennessee opens as a road favorite at Kentucky

Tennessee couldn’t finish the job on Saturday against Alabama, and now they have to try to find a way to move on. The Volunteers, now 5-2, have to hit the road again this weekend and take on Kentucky. It’ll be a night kick in Lexington, with the Wildcats fresh off of a bye week.

That bye week came at a nice time for Mark Stoops. Kentucky went on their typical hot run through September, but have been throttled in back to back outings against Georgia and Missouri. Missouri picked up the win at Kroger Field, thanks to an 18 point fourth quarter. Tennessee will look to do the same this week.

Josh Heupel won his first outing in Lexington, outlasting Kentucky 45-42. Hendon Hooker and company dismantled the Wildcats a year later in Knoxville. Now it’s Joe Milton’s turn.

Tennessee has opened as three-point favorite in this one, per DraftKings Sportsbook. That number has already been bet up to 3.5. The total is currently 51.5.

Tennessee looks much different than last year, but so does Kentucky. Will Levis has moved on to the Titans, and Stoops was able to pull former N.C. State quarterback Devin Leary out of the portal. He also added back offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who left to go back to the Rams for a year.

The results haven’t quite been there, however. Kentucky ranks 91st in total offense, averaging 352 yards per game. Tennessee currently ranks 34th, averaging 438.

Kentucky has the 12th ranked run defense, but they’ve struggled against the pass. The Wildcats are 105th in the country in passing yards allowed, perhaps giving Joe Milton and company a chance to build some momentum after showing some improvement against Alabama.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET in Lexington. ESPN will have the call.

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See DraftKings.com/sportsbook for details.