Can Mark Stoops Finally Slow Down Josh Heupel's Offense?

The Wildcats have never been able to provide defensive resistance to Tennessee since Heupel arrived in Knoxville.

Tanner Johnson | 11 Hours Ago

Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson (6) runs the ball for a touchdown during the NCAA college football game against Kentucky on Saturday, October 28, 2023 in Lexington, KY. / Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

In this story:

Tennessee Volunteers

If Kentucky wants to have a chance to defeat Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday night, the Wildcats are going to have to do something they haven't done since head coach Josh Heupel arrived in Knoxville. They have to find a way to slow down Tennessee's offense.

Heupel has faced off against Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops three times and has carved up his defense each time. In 2021, the unranked Vols beat the No. 18 Wildcats 45-42 and had 461 yards of offense. That offensive production came despite only having the ball for 13:52 of game time. Meanwhile, Kentucky had the ball for 46:08 of the game. That small amount of time that the Vols had the ball was all they needed to shred the Wildcats’ defense. This first matchup between the two head coaches has set the tone for what the series has been since then.

The 2022 matchup was completely dominated by Tennessee. The No. 3 Vols won 44-6 over No. 19 Kentucky and had another offensive explosion. They put up 422 yards of total offense, including 138 receiving yards and two touchdowns for Jalin Hyatt. For the second straight season, Tennessee's wide receivers were running wide open in Kentucky's secondary as Heupel schemed circles around Stoops and his defensive coordinator, Brad White. Nothing had changed since 2021.

However, in 2023, Tennessee’s offense did not look the same as the first two years under Heupel. Vols’ quarterback Joe Milton was a clear downgrade from Hendon Hooker’s brilliance in the last two seasons, and the Vols were not nearly as explosive. But against Kentucky, the Vols found their rhythm. They had 481 yards of offense, including 254 rushing yards. The Wildcats could not stop the ground attack of Jaylen Wright and Dylan Sampson and lost 33-27.

Last season was the best performance against Tennessee that Stoops’ defense has had so far, but it was not enough. If Kentucky wants to have any chance to defeat the Vols on Saturday, they will have to find answers defensively that they have not found in three years.

Will Stoops figure it out on Saturday, or will it be more of the same domination from Heupel and Tennessee’s offense?