Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops is clearly happy with the way his team fought on Saturday against Texas, despite coming up short 16-13 in overtime. He also clearly appreciates the fans coming out in full force Saturday night at Kroger Field, even as the team took another loss in SEC play.
That’s what the Wildcats have going for them as they head into their third and final game this month of October against the Tennessee Volunteers Saturday night. Tennessee enters Saturday night 5-2 overall and 2-2
in the SEC. The Volunteers’ only two losses this season are to Georgia in overtime and at Alabama, so this is a really good team.
Tennessee is No. 17 in the AP Poll, and the Volunteers are playing for a second straight trip to the College Football Playoff. This is a Tennessee team with a dynamic offense, but teams have been able to score on its defense. Can a gradually ascending Cutter Boley lead the Wildcats to scores throughout Saturday night? If so, this can be another close game in Lexington.
Let’s look at Volunteers’ quarterback Joey Aguilar, four other players to watch, keys to the game, and score prediction for Saturday night.
Quarterback: No. 6: Joey Aguilar — 6-3, 225 lbs. Sr. Antioch, Calif. Appalachian State Transfer
Once the dust settled on the fiasco involving Nico Iamaleava transferring out of the Tennessee program in the Spring, Aguilar came over from UCLA and was named the starting quarterback in mid-August.
Aguilar leads the SEC with 1,680 passing yards and ranks third in the SEC with 14 touchdowns. He’s coming off a season-high 28 completions for 268 yards, one touchdown, and one interception at Alabama last week.
Prior to Tennessee, Aguilar played two seasons at Appalachian State, where he compiled over 9,000 total yards of offense, 70 touchdown passes, and 29 interceptions.
Four Players to Watch on Tennessee
1. No. 18: Running Back, DeSean Bishop — 5-10, 208 lbs. R-So. Knoxville, Tenn. Karns HS
Bishop is quickly becoming one of the SEC’s best running backs, with back-to-back 100-yard rushing games. This is a player who started his Tennessee career as a walk-on before earning a scholarship in the Spring of 2025.
Bishop is No. 2 in rushing yards (8,347) and No. 3 in rushing touchdowns (102) in Tennessee high school football history.
2. No. 17: Wide Receiver, Chris Brazzell II — 6’5’ 200 lbs. R-Jr. Midland, Texas, Tulane Transfer
Brazell is an All-American-caliber player and is on the Midseason Watch List for the Maxwell Award. He leads the SEC with seven touchdowns and ranks second with 602 receiving yards, and that’s all with no touchdowns in the Volunteers’ last two games. The Biletnikoff Award candidate had 177 receiving yards and three touchdowns against Georgia back in Week 3.
Brazell played two seasons at Tulane before coming to Knoxville, where he had 711 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 2023.
Brazell’s father, Chris, played seven seasons in the CFL after being a sixth-round pick by the New York Jets in the 1998 NFL Draft.
3. No. 19: Defensive Lineman, Joshua Josephs — 6’3” 240 lbs. Sr. Kennesaw, Ga. North Cobb HS
According to PFF, Josephs is the only returning edge in the country with 85+ grades in run defense (91.4) and pass rush (86.4). He is tied for the FBS lead with three forced fumbles, and he’s also in the top 25 in PFF with an 88.0 pass rush grade.
Josephs teamed with James Pearce Jr., who was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons this past Spring, to form a strong pass rush in 2024. He was second on the team with nine tackles for loss, and Josephs has four sacks and six tackles for loss through seven games this season.
4. No. 23: Defensive Back, Boo Carter — 5’11” 200 lbs. Chattanooga, Tenn. Bradley Central HS
Carter is also an opportunistic defensive player, with two forced fumbles, one sack, and 3.5 tackles for loss. Look for Carter to be back fielding punts Saturday night. He has nine punt returns for 137 yards and a long of 40 this season.
Carter became the first UT freshman to receive SEC All-Freshman laurels as a return specialist since Shawn Summers in 1992, leading the SEC in punt return average at 16.5 yards.
Head Coach: Josh Heupel (5th Season, 42-17; 8th Season, 70-25 Overall) — 47 years old
The quarterback of the 2000 National Champion Oklahoma Sooners, Heupel, is in his fifth season with the Volunteers. Heupel has done an excellent job bringing the Volunteers back to SEC contention, winning SEC Coach of the Year in 2022 when Tennessee finally snapped a 16-year winless drought against Alabama.
Prior to leading Tennessee to the College Football Playoff in 2024, Heupel led the Volunteers to back-to-back bowl wins in the previous two seasons, including an Orange Bowl win in 2022.
At Central Florida for three seasons, Heupel led the Knights to the 2018 American Conference Championship and a berth in the Fiesta Bowl.
Prior to becoming a head coach, Heupel was an offensive coordinator at Missouri, Utah State, and Oklahoma. Heupel started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma in 2004.
As a player with the Sooners, Heupel was the Heisman Trophy runner-up in 2000 and was a sixth-round draft pick by the Miami Dolphins in 2001.
Offensive Coordinator: Joey Halzle (3rd Season) — 3rd Season
Halzle has been with Heupel since 2006, when he was a quarterback at Oklahoma, playing behind Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford in 2008. He came to Tennessee with Heupel in 2021, serving as the quarterbacks coach for two seasons before adding offensive coordinator to his role in 2023.
Prior to Knoxville, Heupel was the quarterbacks coach at Central Florida, Missouri, and Utah State. He started his career as a quality control and graduate assistant at Oklahoma from 2009 to 2014.
Defensive Coordinator: Tim Banks (5th Season) — 53 years old
Banks has been a defensive coordinator or co-defensive coordinator since 2007, a 19-year stretch that spans Tennessee, Penn State, Illinois, Cincinnati, and Central Michigan.
As a player, Banks was a four-year letterwinner at Central Michigan and was a two-time All-MAC Second-Team selection. He was also a co-captain on the 1994 Chippewas’ MAC Championship team, and he led the Chippewas with 105 tackles in 1993.
Keys to the Game
1. Stop the run
Bishop is a really good running back, and the Volunteers average 200.3 rushing yards per game. Stopping the run is imperative on Saturday.
2. Red zone defense
The Volunteers are really opportunistic in the red zone, scoring on 34 of their 39 trips with 27 touchdowns. Keeping the Volunteers out of the end zone could go a long way toward a win on Saturday.
3. Get off to a good start
Tennessee is outscoring teams 100-31 in the first quarter through seven games. That’s reason enough to get off to a good start on Saturday and keep the Kroger Field crowd in the game.
4. Third downs
The Volunteers are converting over 47 percent of their third-down attempts, while opponents are converting just over 38 percent of theirs. This could be a deciding factor on Saturday.
Score Prediction: Volunteers 35 – Wildcats 21
This Wildcats team is giving it everything they have. I just think Tennessee is a better overall team. It could be a close game on Saturday, but the Volunteers will put Kentucky behind by too much early for Boley and the offense to overcome.
