How Kentucky football and No. 17 Tennessee match up — with a game prediction

How the Kentucky Wildcats (2-4, 0-4 SEC) and the No. 17 Tennessee Volunteers (5-2, 2-2 SEC) match up at each position for Saturday’s college football contest — with a game prediction:

Quarterbacks

• Kentucky redshirt freshman Cutter Boley has shown continuous development in UK’s past two games, even as the Wildcats lost 35-14 at Georgia and 16-13 in overtime vs. Texas. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Lexington Christian Academy product has combined to complete 56 of 80 passes for 483 yards with two touchdown throws and two interceptions vs. the Bulldogs and Longhorns. “He’s more comfortable in the pocket,” Mark Stoops says “He’s been doing a good job of working around (the pocket), and even under duress, he’s been delivering the football.”

• Essentially acquired from UCLA in a “trade” for ex-Tennessee starting QB Nico Iamaleava, UT’s Joey Aguilar (64.6% completions, 1,948 passing yards, 15 touchdown passes vs. six interceptions) has been a godsend for Josh Heupel’s offense. The 6-3, 225-pound product of Antioch, California, is eighth in the FBS in passing yards and tied for 18th in passing TDs. A former starting QB at Appalachian State, Aguilar has thrown seven TDs and five picks in UT’s four SEC games to date.

Advantage: Tennessee

Running backs

• Kentucky’s Seth McGowan is eighth in the SEC in rushing (476 yards, 79.3 yards a contest) and tied for fourth in the league with seven touchdowns. Before having to leave the Texas game with a shoulder injury (after going to the hospital for scans, he later returned to action), McGowan played a big role in the UK pass attack, catching seven passes for 68 yards. Nebraska transfer Dante Dowdell had a rough go in short-yardage situations vs. Texas. Overall, he ran 11 times for 27 yards vs. the Longhorns. Redshirt freshman Jason Patterson carried seven times for 20 yards vs. Texas and caught two passes for four yards. “He kind of just puts his head down and goes to work every day. And it’s paying off,” Stoops says of Patterson.

• Tennessee running back DeSean Bishop is fifth in the SEC in rushing (604 yards, 86.3 yards a contest) and tied for fourth in the league with seven touchdowns. A homegrown 5-10, 208-pound product of Knoxville, Bishop had a strong showing in UT’s 37-20 loss at then-No. 6 Alabama last week, carrying 14 times for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Star Thomas (357 rushing yards, 5.4 yards a carry, four TDs) and Peyton Lewis (229 rushing yards, 4.4 ypc, five TDs) give Tennessee a three-headed rushing attack. Lewis carried eight times for 24 yards and a touchdown in UT’s 28-18 win over UK last season at Neyland Stadium.

Advantage: Tennessee

Wide receiver

• After Kentucky sophomore Hardley Gilmore IV caught a combined six passes in UK’s first four games, the 6-1, 183-pound product of Belle Glade, Florida, has caught seven total in the Wildcats’ past two contests. That included four catches for 34 yards in the loss to Texas. Super-senior Ja’Mori Maclin (11 catches, 168 yards) had a 32-yard touchdown reception and caught a two-point conversion pass last season at UT. In his first game of 2025, true freshman DJ Miller caught two passes for 13 yards vs. Texas.

• Tennessee’s Braylon Staley (41 catches, 523 yards, three touchdowns) had a big game at Alabama. The 6-foot, 190-pound freshman caught 10 passes for 92 yards and a TD in Tuscaloosa. Chris Brazzell II (39 catches, 602 yards, seven TDs) and Mike Matthews (29, 455, 2) combine with Staley to give UT three high-level wideouts.

Advantage: Tennessee

Tight ends

• Kentucky sophomore Willie Rodriguez caught three passes for 32 yards last week vs. Texas. On the season, the 6-4, 252-pound sophomore from Covington Catholic has 12 catches for 173 yards and a touchdown. Senior Josh Kattus caught two passes for 22 yards vs. Texas. On the season, the 6-4, 247-pound Cincinnati product has 12 catches for 163 yards and two TDs. Kattus caught a 27-yard TD pass last season vs. Tennessee.

• Tennessee’s Miles Kitselman has 22 catches for 222 yards and two touchdowns. In last season’s UT win over UK, Kitselman caught six passes for 97 yards and a TD.

Advantage: Even

Offensive line

• Kentucky’s interior trio — left guard Joshua Braun, center Jager Burton, and right guard Jalen Farmer — have been considered the strength of the UK offense. In the frustrating loss to Texas, however, the Wildcats failed on multiple short-yardage attempts running behind their interior linemen.

• After beginning his college career at LSU, Tennessee left tackle Lance Heard is the sole returning starter from last season on the UT offensive front. The 6-6, 330-pound Heard is the anchor of a unit that has allowed only eight quarterback sacks through seven games.

Advantage: Tennessee

Defensive line

• Kentucky tackle Tavion Gadson continued what has been a breakout sophomore season with four tackles, including half a sack, in the loss vs. Texas. Nose guard David Gusta also played well vs. the Longhorns. The transfer from Washington State also recorded four tackles and shared in a sack. End Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace, a transfer from South Dakota, made three tackles and successfully defended a Texas pass.

• Tennessee edge Joshua Josephs is one of the most disruptive pass rushers in the SEC. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound senior from Kennesaw, Georgia, has four sacks, five quarterback hurries, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Ends Tyre West and Dominic Bailey also play “up field:’ West has four QB sacks, Bailey 3.5.

Advantage: Even

Linebackers

• In limited snaps, Kentucky sophomore Grant Godfrey led UK linebackers in tackles vs. Texas with four. The 6-3, 234-pound middle linebacker from Suwanee, Georgia, also shared in a quarterback sack. “He’s just a guy that needs reps to (keep) getting better,” Mark Stoops says of Godfrey. After making a combined 23 tackles in UK’s first two games, weakside LB Alex Afari has 16 stops total in the past four. The 6-3, 227 pound senior had 10 tackles last season vs. UT.

•Tennessee weakside linebacker Arion Carter leads the SEC and is tied for 28th in the FBS in tackles with 61. The 6-1, 235-pound junior from Smyrna, Tennessee, made 17 tackles in the Volunteers’ 41-34 overtime win at Mississippi State on Sept. 27 and had 14 stops in UT’s 44-41 overtime loss to Georgia on Sept. 13. In Tennessee’s win over Kentucky last season, Carter led the Vols with 10 tackles.

Advantage: Tennessee

Defensive backs

• Kentucky sophomore cornerback Terhyon Nichols played the best game of his college career to date last week vs. Texas. The 5-11, 198-pound Cincinnati product had four tackles, shared in a QB sack and successfully defended a pass. “Very proud of the effort of Terhyon,” Mark Stoops says. “He’s a great young man, great leader. ... Can’t say enough good things about him.”

• Tennessee left cornerback Colton Hood, a transfer from Colorado who began his college career at Auburn, leads the Volunteers with seven pass breakups. The 6-foot, 195-pound redshirt sophomore, has also made 27 tackles, three tackles for loss, intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble. Free safety Edrees Farooq is second on the team and 22nd in the SEC in tackles with 40 and has broken up two passes and forced a fumble.

Advantage: Even

Special teams

• Kentucky punt coverage played a major role in sinking UK in the Wildcats’ three-point loss to Texas. The Wildcats surrendered punt returns of 45 and 43 yards to Ryan Niblett, which led to 10 points for the Longhorns. Kentucky redshirt freshman place-kicker Jacob Kauwe is 10 of 12 on field goal attempts with a long make of 51 yards. Against Texas, the Billings, Montana, product hit from 45 yards with nine seconds left in regulation to force OT. Senior punter Aidan Laros is third in the SEC, averaging 45.63 yards a kick and has stopped 12 of his 27 punts inside the opponents’ 20-yard line.

• Tennessee punter Jackson Ross is averaging 44.41 yards a kick and has stopped 15 of his 22 kicks inside the foe’s 20-yard line. Place-kicker Max Gilbert is 10 of 12 on field goal tries with a long make of 53 yards. Boo Carter is averaging 15.2 yards on nine punt returns.

Advantage: Tennessee

Prediction

Tennessee 34, Kentucky 16

This story was originally published October 23, 2025 at 5:45 AM.

Mark Story

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-444-4731

Mark Story has worked in the Lexington Herald-Leader sports department since Aug. 27, 1990, and has been a Herald-Leader sports columnist since 2001. I have covered every Kentucky-Louisville football game since 1994, every UK-U of L basketball game but three since 1996-97 and every Kentucky Derby since 1994. Support my work with a digital subscription