Both Kentucky and Tennessee have come a long way under the new leadership of Mark Stoops and Butch Jones, respectively. As such, the game every ‘Cats fan circles on the schedule will hold an even greater significance as both teams look to move within spitting distance of bowl eligibility.

Lexington will be electric all day leading up to the evening’s kickoff as the Halloween effect will be in full swing, and the whole town will still be buzzing from the past weekend’s Breeders’ Cup (horse racing) festivities.

After a fast start to the season, the ‘Cats have lost two in a row and Kentucky fans can’t help but feel as though they are nearing a free fall back to the SEC basement they called home for so long. If Stoops and company hope to keep the fans invested in Saturday’s game, and past Tennessee’s first few offensive series, there will have to be an overhaul in the run defense.

Kentucky has been unable to stop fleet-footed opponents thus far, and mobile quarterbacks like the Vols’ Joshua Dobbs are particularly disruptive to UK’s defensive schemes. On top of that, the ‘Cats will be without their best run-stopper and arguably their best overall player in defensive tackle Melvin Lewis, who went down two weeks ago in a heartbreaking home loss to Auburn.

Just four short days ago, Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott ran rampant for 117 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Wildcats. A week prior, Auburn scored 21 of its 30 points on the ground. Even against Eastern Kentucky, who they were just barely able to eke out a win over, Kentucky gave up 180 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns. If there is one bright spot, it is that the team has improved from its opener against Louisiana-Lafayette, an outing where they gave up 247 yards and 4 touchdowns on the ground. It’s hard to say whether it’s a positive or a negative that reigning Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year Elijah McGuire scored none of those touchdowns.

So in comes the dynamic Volunteers backfield duo of Dobbs and running back Jalen Hurd. The two have combined for 1,051 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground. Against the five-star laden Florida Gators defense, Dobbs and Hurd both topped 100 yards for the game, including 2 touchdowns from Hurd. Each player had a rushing touchdown in a losing effort against Eric Striker and the Oklahoma Sooners. Hurd also emerged as the team’s go-to player during last Saturday’s slugfest with Alabama. The point is that the rushing attack for Tennessee has worked for them against run defenses far more stout than that which Defensive Coordinator D.J. Eliot has been able to string together in Lexington.

Look for star Kentucky linebacker Josh Forrest to press up as extra insurance for backup defensive tackle Matt Elam. Elam famously committed to Kentucky over Alabama two years ago but has yet to live up to the fanfare he arrived with. Though the 6-foot-7, 360-pounder is enormous enough to require two blockers most plays, he is not as capable as the injured Lewis when it comes to getting into the backfield and being disruptive.

Under the radar player to look out for:
As was the case with McGuire of Louisiana-Lafayette, there exists the possibility that too much focus will be placed on containing Dobbs and Hurd. This would allow for former Alabama running back Alvin Kamara to shake loose for a few big plays. Kamara has quietly accumulated a 5.5 yards-per-carry average as the team’s 3rd-leading rusher. He is much smaller than Hurd, so he will be much harder for the Kentucky front seven to find behind Tennessee’s big (but young) offensive line which, combined with his vision and patience, will make him a home-run threat whenever his number is called on Saturday night.