No. 16 Tennessee is bringing out Dark Mode for a heavyweight home date with No.
9 Kentucky on Saturday, Nov. 7.
The game is set for 6:15 p.m. ET in Knoxville and doubles as both Tennessee’s homecoming game and the Vols’ Dark Mode game. Tennessee first rolled out the Dark Mode jerseys in 2009, then brought them back in 2021, and the program made it official Friday morning with a Dark Mode hype video on social media.
The week’s uniform rollout had already set the table. Tennessee returned to adidas in July, and the athletic department unveiled the new look over several days.
Dark Mode was released on July 9, and plenty of fans were eager to see it on the field. The setup is all black and orange, from the helmets down to the cleats, with a new number font that blends a traditional block style with a modern edge.
The matchup itself carries plenty of weight. It’s the 122nd meeting between Tennessee and Kentucky, a rivalry that dates to Oct.
21, 1893. Tennessee leads the series 86-26-9, has won eight of the last 10 meetings, and has taken five straight.
The Vols also beat Kentucky 56-34 in Lexington last season.
Both teams are coming off byes, and Kentucky enters at 7-1 overall and 5-1 in SEC play under first-year head coach Will Stein. The Wildcats have won six straight since their only loss, a second-half blowout against Alabama on Sept. 12.
Tennessee’s defense will have to deal with that momentum, and it arrives with impressive numbers of its own under first-year defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. The Vols lead the nation with 35 sacks and rank sixth nationally with 66 tackles for loss.
On the other side, DeSean Bishop has powered Tennessee’s ground game all season. He ranks second nationally with 957 rushing yards, is tied for sixth with 11 rushing touchdowns, and sits 10th on Tennessee’s all-time rushing list with 2,488 career yards. The Vols are averaging 213 rushing yards per game, which ranks 17th in the nation.
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Josh Heupel's Knoxville Visit Put Tennessee Fans On Manning Watch
Josh Heupels stop at Baylor School on Friday night had the kind of built-in intrigue Tennessee fans notice right away. The Vols coach was there for the game against Knox Catholic, where Baylor came away with a 21-7 win, and he took time to meet with freshman quarterback Marshall Manning, the son of Peyton Manning. Marshall is still early in his high school career, has only recently made his debut, and has seen limited action so far, but any appearance involving the Manning name tends to draw attention in Knoxville.
Heupel was not the only Tennessee staffer on hand, either. Running backs coach DeRail Sims was also in attendance to watch five-star commit David Gabriel Georges, who turned in a strong showing in the game. For Tennessee, it was a reminder that the recruiting trail and the Manning family continue to intersect in ways that keep Vols fans watching every sideline sighting a little more closely. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessees Next Depth Chart Already Comes With One Huge Uncertainty
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The broad outline is there on both sides of the ball, but the quarterback picture remains the biggest variable in an otherwise orderly projection. Because the portal has not been factored in, the list is inherently fluid, and that makes the early read more of a starting point than a forecast. For Tennessee, the next few weeks could do a lot to turn speculation into something closer to a real depth chart. [Read more 🡒]
Rick Barnes Sent Tennessee A Message They Couldn't Ignore
After preseason losses, Rick Barnes spent a long stretch with Tennessees basketball team in film, breaking down what winning basketball actually looks like and what the Volunteers were missing. The session lasted three and a half hours, and it was part teaching moment, part reset button for a group still trying to turn early lessons into habits before the games start to count.
Barnes said the response has shown up in practice and in a closed scrimmage against Davidson, where Tennessee looked more connected and more aware of what was happening around them on the floor. He has also made clear that the standard inside the program matters more than any outside ranking, which is the kind of message that tends to land when a coach believes his team is close to understanding what he wants. [Read more 🡒]