Mark Stoops Understands The Challenge No. 3 Tennessee Presents

Stoops is no stranger to taking a team into a hostile environment as an underdog.

If you were expecting Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops to kickstart game week against No. 3 Tennessee by ditching the coach speak, hyping up his Wildcats and maybe tossing in a jab against the Vols every now and then, well...two things: 

One, you clearly haven't seen a Mark Stoops press conference before. Two, Stoops respects Tennessee, and he isn't going to pretend like his team doesn't have a mammoth challenge in front of them this Saturday in Knoxville: 

“Obviously, very excited about the opportunity this week to go play an extremely good Tennessee team that is absolutely playing on fire right now," Stoops said on Monday. "Offensively, playing at an incredibly high level right now with their tempo, their talent, the way they are playing at quarterback, across the board. (They are) Extremely hard to defend and playing extremely well and the same can be said about their defense."

If you've watched the Volunteers play football at all this season, you don't need statistics to tell you just how good of a roster head coach Josh Heupel possesses. If you haven't, well here's how they rank nationally: 

• Third Down Conversion Percentage: 12th (.515)
• Completion Percentage: 3rd (.708)
• First Downs: 13th (190)
• Yards-Per-Game: 1st (571.7)
• Yards-Per-Completion: 1st (16.14)
• Interceptions Thrown: T-2nd (2)
• Red Zone Defense: 13th (.733)
• Red Zone Offense: 4th (.974)
• Rushing Defense: T-8th (90.9)
• Scoring Offense: 1st (50.1)

The Vols are an explosive group that can take any play for a touchdown at any given moment. Point. Blank. Period. 

Quarterback Hendon Hooker has cooked up a Heisman campaign, hurling for 2,093 yards, 18 touchdowns and just one interception in seven games. Hooker, as well as two running backs have acquired over 300 yards on the feet. Jaylin Hyatt's 769 receiving yards are the seventh-most in the nation, while his 12 touchdown catches are the best in the land. UT's offense is also being ran without Cedric Tillman, the "top" WR on the roster, who's played just three times this season. 

Anywhere you look on that Tennessee sideline, there's a dynamic athlete in orange and white that can hurt you in multiple ways on the field.

And guess what? Stoops knows that. It doesn't take a genius to see how unstoppable the Vols' offense appears to be. The Kentucky HC also knows that his players are well aware of what's on the horizon:

"You better," he said when asked about his players 'getting up' for the opportunity. "I think it’s human nature when you’re playing a team that’s playing this well, you better play at a high clip, or you’ll get embarrassed. They could play very, very fast, they’re scoring points on everybody. You’re playing the No. 1 offense in the country, you better be locked in and ready to play at a higher level.”

One way of getting locked in and preparing for a high-powered offense like UT's is going back to any past experience that could somewhat resemble what Hooker and Co. can do.

For the Wildcats, that's going back to what happened in Oxford on Oct. 1 against Ole Miss. Defensive coordinator Brad White and Stoops have both said that the Rebels' pace and tempo doesn't really compare to the Vols, but it's at least a place to start. 

“It definitely gave us some prep," Stoops said about Ole Miss' offense preparing UK for Tennessee's tempo. "We had to work on some of that even in camp and just getting our feet up underneath us and try to work at that tempo because it’s almost impossible for your scout team to simulate anything as fast as they do or execute like they do."

One of those things that separates Tennessee from any other offense in the SEC, and perhaps the country, is both the skill of its wide receivers and how they lineup on the field. 

The Vols' WRs present wide splits, something that can easily disturb a secondary. White mentioned last week how missed tackles tend to rear their heads following bye weeks, providing yet another potential challenge to the Wildcats' defense if their heads aren't screwed on straight. Stoops expanded on the challenge on Monday:  

"It kind of forces your hands whether you’re in a split-safety look or a one-high look, so they know whether you’re in two safeties or one," he said. "It also creates a lot of space for them, which is obviously what they like. It gives them big windows with some receivers that can really run and a quarterback that’s playing at the level he is and how accurate he is, it gives them a lot of space.”

The unique offensive look is just one of many potential problems the Vols can cause a defense. 

Kentucky's group has been stout, and in the words of Stoops, is in 'as good a shape as they've been in for several weeks.' Coming off a bye week, the Wildcats are rested and awaiting the biggest test of the 2022 season. 

Just as they were heading into Gainesville and Oxford...the Cats are ready to relish in the occasion of playing an SEC foe in a hostile road environment. If there's one thing that Stoops has instilled in his program over nearly a decade, it's bringing that hardhat mentality everywhere, whether it's Kroger Field, Neyland Stadium or any facility that contains a football field. 

"Anytime you’re playing top-ranked teams, these guys are ahead of the East with Georgia, great venue, SEC game against a top-three team in the country – big game and a big opportunity. We have to embrace that challenge,” Stoops said. "The environment is very difficult, we play in this league consistently, so we’re used to playing in these environments but that doesn’t make it any easier. This is a unique challenge this week so we have to learn from the things we did well, areas where we fell short and environments like this, try to offset it as best as you can." 

Rocky Top awaits the Wildcats, who will look to spoiler Tennessee's perfect season on Saturday night. 

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