Tennessee senior defensive tackle Matthew Butler was asked on a Zoom call this week if the optimism surrounding last Saturday’s trip to Georgia had been replaced by a loss of confidence following the 44-21 ambush inside Sanford Stadium.
“No,” was Butler’s terse response.
The No. 18 Volunteers have proven this football season that they are better than South Carolina and Missouri but not in the class of No. 3 Georgia. Tennessee still has a chance to be an upper-echelon member in the Southeastern Conference’s Eastern Division, even possibly claiming the role of Georgia’s chief challenger, but disposing of Kentucky (1-2) at noon Saturday is a must if the Vols are to attain that status.
Tennessee has won 33 of the past 35 series meetings and has downed the Wildcats 17 straight times in Neyland Stadium, streaks that have become more impressive given that Kentucky is 19-10 since the start of the 2018 season.
“When you look at this game, it’s a great opportunity for us to play against a really good football team,” Tennessee third-year coach Jeremy Pruitt said. “When you look at Kentucky over the last four or five years, they continue to get better every year. They play together. They’ve played in a lot of close games, and they’ve won a lot of close games over the last couple of years.