No. 16/17 Tennessee will host No.
9/9 Kentucky in a homecoming matchup at 6:15 p.m. ET on ESPN on Nov. 7 in Neyland Stadium, the Southeastern Conference announced Monday.
Both teams are idle this week, and the setting around this one is already lining up to feel big. Neyland Stadium is sold out for the 33rd straight game, and it will be the sixth consecutive year the rivalry is played at night.
Kentucky comes in at 7-1 and 5-1 in the SEC, sitting alone atop the league standings. Tennessee is 6-2 and 3-2, currently in a four-way tie for fourth.
The Vols stayed in the top 20 after a last-second 27-24 loss at South Carolina, and both of their defeats have come by a combined six points, including a 20-17 loss to then-No. 11 Texas.
The first College Football Playoff rankings come out the Tuesday before Tennessee and Kentucky meet. That matchup will be only the fourth time the teams have faced each other both ranked.
The previous instances came in 1950, 1951 and 2022. The 1950 and 2022 games were both played in Neyland Stadium.
This will also be the first time since Nov. 23, 1974, that Tennessee has hosted Kentucky for homecoming. The Vols have won four straight homecoming games since 2022.
Nov. 7 SEC Television Schedule
Texas at Missouri Noon ET ABC or ESPN*
Arkansas at Auburn 12:45 p.m. ET SEC Network
Texas A&M at South Carolina 3 p.m. ET ESPN
Alabama at LSU 3:30 p.m. ET ABC
Vanderbilt at Mississippi State 4:15 p.m. ET SEC Network
Kentucky at Tennessee 6:15 p.m. ET ESPN
Georgia at Ole Miss 7:30 p.m. ET ABC
Oklahoma at Florida 7:45 p.m. ET SEC Network
In Other News...
Tennessees Costly 4th-And-1 Breakdown Deserves A Closer Look
A late fourth-and-1 became the kind of moment Tennessee would like back for a long time, with quarterback George MacIntyre unable to execute the intended handoff and the play ending in a loss of yards and a turnover on downs. It was the sort of breakdown that can swing a game in a hurry, and in this case it opened the door for South Carolina to tie things up before going on to win.
Josh Heupel and MacIntyre both pointed to the sequence as a misstep and a miscommunication, which only adds to the sting for Tennessee because the margin for error was already so thin. On a night when one clean exchange might have changed the finish, the Volunteers were left sorting through how a short-yardage call unraveled at the worst possible time. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Benefits After South Carolinas Costly Postgame Chaos
Tennessee will collect an unexpected off-field benefit from one of the SECs newest enforcement measures after South Carolina was fined $500,000 for fans storming the field at Williams-Brice Stadium following a game-winning field goal against the Volunteers. The penalty marks the third field-storming fine in the conference this season and the first under the leagues flat-rate system, which replaced a more variable approach to these violations.
For Tennessee, the result is less about the dollar amount than the principle behind it. The money will be paid to the visiting team affected by the violation, giving the Volunteers a direct return from a night that ended in chaos for the home crowd. It is another reminder that the SEC is trying to make field-storming more expensive, even as the practice continues to create problems after close games. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Still Has Two Strengths That Should Worry Kentucky
Even after the 27-24 loss to South Carolina, Tennessee still has the kind of defensive backbone and ground game that can make life miserable for Kentucky. The Volunteers have piled up 35 sacks and 66 tackles for loss this season, numbers that speak to a front capable of changing games even when the offense does not fully capitalize. On the other side of the ball, DeSean Bishop gave Tennessee a needed spark with 120 rushing yards and a touchdown, a performance that also pushed him past some meaningful career benchmarks.
Now the bye week gives Tennessee a chance to reset before the Kentucky matchup, and that is where the Vols will lean on what has traveled best for them all year. If the defense keeps collapsing pockets and the run game keeps producing steady yards, Tennessee has a clear path to making the rivalry game uncomfortable for the Wildcats, even after the setback in Columbia. [Read more 🡒]