By: NATE DeVILLE
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - - After suffering an emotional 37-20 loss to Alabama on Saturday, the Tennessee Volunteers now set their sights on the Kentucky Wildcats for a crucial Southeastern Conference road game.
“Obviously everybody’s disappointed… but whether you win or lose, you got to flip it forward,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said of the upcoming game.
The Vols (5-2, 2-2 SEC) will visit a Kentucky team Saturday night (7:45 p.m., SEC Network) with a deceptive 2-4 (0-4 SEC) record that fails to represent the threat it poses to a College Football Playoff aspiring Vols team.
The Wildcats are fresh off of a narrow 16-13 overtime loss to a talented No. 22 Texas team.
Redshirt freshman QB Cutter Boley led Kentucky with a 31 of 39, 256-yard performance in this game, and had an impressive 25 of 41, 225-yard, 2 TD showing against Georgia earlier this season.
Boley’s protective front has garnered the attention of Heupel in preparation for Saturday's game.
“Their offensive line. Their experience [and] physicality is a big part of their identity,” Heupel said when asked what impresses him about Kentucky.
Tennessee’s Joey Aguilar faced a dominant Alabama defense on Saturday that delivered a slew of hard hits on the quarterback, sacking him four times.
Throughout the contest, Tennessee medical staff could be seen tending to Aguilar’s neck as a result of the damage he took in the game.
As the leader of Tennessee’s offense, Aguilar has totaled 1,948 passing yards this season, throwing 15 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Despite any potential injury and the medical attention on Saturday, Heupel has no doubts in his quarterback’s availability against Kentucky.
“He’ll be ready to go this Saturday,” the Tennessee coach forthrightly told media members on Monday.
Tennessee has won the last four games (all under Heupel) of this border rival matchup and has not lost in Lexington since a 29-26 defeat in 2017.
Heupel and the Volunteers will look to extend this streak on Saturday against a sneaky good Wildcats team.