If I were Tennessee, I’d have a hard time not sleeping on Kentucky.

After all, Tennessee just delivered the victory of the college football season against Alabama a couple of weeks ago. The Vols have the legitimate Heisman Trophy contender and the nation’s No. 2 offense, which is expected to return No. 1 receiver Cedric Tillman. They have a post-September top-3 ranking in the AP Poll for the first time in 21 years.

So again, why would Tennessee lose sleep over … Kentucky?

Like, the program the Vols beat in its best 2 seasons in the last 40 years, including last year in Lexington. If I were Tennessee, I’d be thinking about that matchup, wherein Hendon Hooker threw for 316 yards and he averaged 15.8 yards per attempt. Or better yet, I’d be thinking about that matchup at No. 1 Georgia the following week. I sure as heck wouldn’t be worried about a Kentucky team that hasn’t beaten an AP Top 5 team since 2007, and hasn’t done so on the road since the Jimmy Carter administration.

But fortunately for you, Vols fans, I am not Tennessee. I’m not even Josh Heupel.

If I were, though, I’d be focused on the realistic path that Kentucky has to spoil those good vibes on Rocky Top.

That’s right. Despite what that double-digit spread might suggest, there’s a path for Mark Stoops to pull off a monumental upset in Knoxville.

Why? We know that if there’s a place that Tennessee can be had, it’s in the passing game. The Vols’ defense ranks 129 out of 131 FBS teams against the pass, and they rank No. 103 in FBS with 13 passing plays of 30 yards allowed. If you’ve got a team that is willing to take some downfield shots, well, you’ve got a shot. Alabama had a shot with Bryce Young. Will Levis isn’t on that level, but I’d argue he’s got just as good of pass-catchers as Young (for real).

Kentucky has 9 completions that have gone for 40 yards this year. The only Power 5 teams with more such plays are Ohio State, Oklahoma and, of course, Tennessee. Kentucky’s passing game took another step thanks to the new trio of Virginia Tech transfer and former Hooker target Tayvion Robinson, true freshmen Dane Key and Nashville native Barion Brown.

Brown’s explosiveness made him an instant fan favorite in Lexington:

Brown isn’t quite at Jalin Hyatt-levels of big-play ability (yet), but he does have 5 catches of 30 yards. Kentucky and Tennessee are the only SEC teams with multiple receivers with at least 4 such plays.

Returning to his home state, Brown sounds like a guy who might have a little something extra in the tank. He told Kentucky.com that “Tennessee fans don’t like me” because of his decision to spurn the in-state Vols. They especially wouldn’t like Brown if he ripped off a couple of long touchdowns in his first career game at Neyland Stadium.

It’ll be the first career game in Neyland for that entire trio of UK receivers, as well as Levis, who probably appreciated a bye week after dealing with toe and shoulder injuries. I can’t imagine Levis’ ribs are in perfect health after all the hits he’s taken as a runner and as a passer in the pocket.

If the secondary is the Vols’ obvious weakness, the offensive line is Kentucky’s. The artist formerly known as “The Big Blue Wall” — shoutout to the person who dubbed the 2022 version “The Big Blue Gate” — has to protect Levis well enough for him to take those downfield shots. That much is obvious. If Kentucky can’t protect well enough to operate out of play-action, forget about it. Levis will take a beating and the Vols will sing “Rocky Top” all the way to Athens next week.

Kentucky needs that passing game to do the heavy lifting. As great as Chris Rodriguez has been in his return to the starting lineup — PFF has him graded as the No. 2 running back in FBS — giving him 25 carries against the Vols’ No. 8 run defense probably isn’t in the cards for Rich Scangarello. At least it shouldn’t be. That’s not to say Rodriguez will be invisible. He can still play a role in trying to keep the Tennessee defense on the field, and more importantly, keep the Tennessee offense out of rhythm.

Is there any way to actually keep the Vols’ passing attack in check? I mean, Tennessee even neutralized Will Anderson. The Vols have only allowed 11 sacks through 7 games, which is infinitely better than the 2021 offensive line who allowed more sacks (44) than all but 1 Power 5 team (UNC). This is a much different task for Kentucky than bottling up mobile quarterbacks like Anthony Richardson and Jaxson Dart, nor is it the same mission as confusing a pocket passer out of the Air Raid like Will Rogers.

Speaking of Rogers, though, Stoops and Brad White showed against MSU that they can rattle a quarterback with unique pre-snap looks. Can they accomplish that against Hooker? Nick Saban sure couldn’t. Shoot, Stoops and White didn’t come close to that last year when Hooker came out and ripped off a pair of 70-scores through the air.

Two things. One is that this year’s Kentucky defense tackles better in space than last year’s, which is why it only allowed 6 passing plays of 30 yards in its first 7 games (No. 14 in FBS against the pass after it was No. 51 last year). Another is that UK has now experienced the Tennessee tempo, as well as the high-paced Ole Miss offense, which the Cats held in check in Oxford. They’re also coming off a bye, unlike last year when Kentucky was a week removed from a game at MSU in which the defense was on the field for 41 minutes.

Does that mean Kentucky will be fresh enough to get stops against the Vols? Of course not. But does Kentucky perhaps have a better chance of not getting punched in the mouth from the jump? Definitely.

All Kentucky can ask for is a chance late in this one. In that atmosphere, which has already hosted 2 College GameDay, rivalry victories, there might not be that same level of anticipation for a 2-loss Kentucky team that has 1 win in Knoxville since 1985.

Then again, it’s a primetime kick on ESPN with Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit on the call. Of course there’ll still be plenty of buzz to see the greatest show on Tennessee turf.

Whatever the case, I’m hoping that atmosphere is rockin’ once more if I’m Tennessee.

Kentucky isn’t to be slept on.