Kentucky’s week of preparation is in full swing, and Will Stein likes what he’s seeing as the Wildcats head toward Saturday’s road test against Tennessee.
On his weekly radio show with Tom Leach, Stein spent the hour laying out the tone around the program after the bye week, and it starts with how his team has worked on the practice field. Kentucky used the time off to get healthier, but it also stayed locked in.
“This week of practice has been exceptional,” Stein told Leach. “So doesn’t guarantee success, but I think it puts you in a really good spot going into Saturday.
Feel like our guys are very intentional. They were flying around.
It was very physical practice the last two days.”
That kind of edge matters now more than ever. Stein made it clear that as November arrives, the game starts to tilt toward the teams that can control the line of scrimmage.
“When you get into November, that’s where the line of scrimmage matters more than ever. So the ability to run the football and stop the run is is huge to winning and losing football games,” said Stein.
That message fits this matchup perfectly. Tennessee brings a run-heavy offense and a defense built to get after the quarterback, which puts a premium on Kentucky’s ability to hold up in the trenches on both sides of the ball. The Wildcats will need to slow the Vols’ ground game, and they’ll need to run it themselves to keep Tennessee’s pass rush from taking over.
Stein also touched on the rivalry side of the week, and his answer came from the perspective of a fan first.
“Historically for me as a Kentucky fan, it’s Louisville, it’s Tennessee, and it’s Duke,” said Stein.
“I’m just telling you how I felt growing up. Those were the three games as a fan.
This is not a coach talking. This is young Will Stein at home cheering on the Cats.
Those would be the three teams that always had to and wanted to beat.”
Now he gets his first shot at one of those games as Kentucky’s head coach.
As for what the Wildcats must do to come out of Knoxville with a win, Stein kept coming back to the same themes: protect the football, own the ball, and stay clean.
“There’s plenty of things that we have to do. Obviously, protect the football is vital.
Owning the ball, having ball excellence on defense is huge. Playing clean in all three phases,” Kentucky’s head coach explained.
“I think this is going to be big going on the road. Obviously, got to be able to run the ball on the road and stop the run.
So this is a tough team. I know we’re up for the task, and our guys are really excited for the challenge.”
Earlier in the show, Stein also said Kentucky needs to “pack your defense” on the road and run the football. The emphasis is clear: this game is going to be decided up front.
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