By Mark Nagi
For years … well, for decades, the Tennessee/Kentucky football rivalry hasn’t been much of a rivalry.
Since 1985, Tennessee and Kentucky have played 41 times, and the Vols have won 38 of those games. That includes a 26-year winning streak in this annual matchup.
Losses to Kentucky are so rare that they typically lead to the firing of Tennessee’s football coach. The 10-7 loss in Lexington in 2011 should have meant Derek Dooley would be dismissed before the bus even left the stadium, but new Tennessee AD Dave Hart didn’t feel like he had enough time on campus to make that move. Dooley would be fired late in the 2012 season.
Butch Jones’s 29-26 loss to Kentucky in October 2017 was a precursor to his firing a couple of weeks later. Jeremy Pruitt’s 34-7 loss to Kentucky during the 2020 Covid season was so ugly it made the decision to can him early in 2021 once NCAA violations became known that much easier.
Tennessee doesn’t lose to Kentucky. That’s the belief in the UT football complex, and absolutely among the Tennessee fan base. Jose Heupel is 5-0 against Kentucky.
But next Saturday, November 7, a different Kentucky team is coming to Neyland Stadium. As of the writing of this article, the Cats were 6-1.
This isn’t your father’s Kentucky team.
In the modern era of college football, a team can turn over their roster immediately. There are no more honeymoon periods, expecting a team to gradually improve over time.
And that’s where Will Stein steps in. Stein, at 37 years old, is one of the youngest head coaches in the sport and has done an incredible job with this program. It’s only his first season at UK, but he’s already shown gumption by going for two and the win in overtime twice… in back-to-back weeks no less. Wins at South Carolina and at home against LSU opened a lot of eyes nationally. He also led Kentucky to a win at Oklahoma.
Stein might be young, but he’s already been a fixture on the offensive coaching staffs at Louisville, Texas, UTSA, and Oregon. Stein found a hidden gem at QB, getting Kenny Minchey to transfer to Kentucky after three years as a backup at Notre Dame. Through his first seven games, Minchey threw for 1552 yards, 13 scores, and only 1 interception, while completing 68.4% of his passes.
He was a championship-winning QB at Trinity High School in Louisville. His Dad played at Kentucky, and he wanted to follow in those footsteps. But they never gave him a look, so he walked on at Louisville. He might have played college football at Louisville, but he is now Big Blue’s favorite son.
Kentucky football is on an upward trajectory under Stein. Now, not only can they seriously damage Tennessee’s playoff hopes, but the Cats can also bolster their own.
Times change. Empires rise and fall. If Indiana can come out of nowhere and win a national championship, any team in a Power 4 conference in college football can. All it takes is a good coach, some smart decisions on how to build your roster, and a little luck along the way. Curt Cignetti built Indiana up immediately. Will Stein is aiming to do the same thing at Kentucky.
So is this indeed a new Kentucky? The Vols will have had two weeks to prepare to prove that this is the same old Kentucky.
A win over the Cats would usher in basketball season in Lexington. A win for the Cats would push that off perhaps until January.
