Tennessee’s biggest win of Josh Heupel’s inaugural season was the 45-42 outlasting of No. 18 Kentucky last November in Lexington.
Heupel was asked Thursday if he was worried that Saturday night’s rematch against the No. 19 Wildcats inside Neyland Stadium might be viewed as a “trap game.” This season’s Volunteers are 7-0 and No. 3 in the country with a trip to top-ranked Georgia awaiting next week.
“It doesn’t matter how you phrase it,” Heupel said during his final news conference of the week. “The only one that matters as a competitor is the next one. Everybody can be talking about the last one, but you’re only as good as your next performance and being able to refocus and regroup and be consistent.
“What’s been great about this team is that one week at a time we’ve found a way to be the best team on the field, and the way we do that is through preparation and the way we practice.”
Saturday’s pairing of ranked teams marks just the third such occasion in the Tennessee-Kentucky rivalry and the first time since 1951, when the top-ranked Vols thumped the No. 9 Wildcats 28-0 in Lexington on their way to that season’s national championship. One year earlier, No. 9 Tennessee defeated No. 3 Kentucky 7-0 in Knoxville.