Before every Kentucky game the Cats Illustrated staff chimes in with takes and predictions.

How does the staff see the Cats’ matchup with the Vols in Knoxville?

What are the main reasons for Kentucky fans to be optimistic about Saturday?

Jeff Drummond: It might take an Olympic-class optimist to find something in this matchup that produces hope, but I suppose we could point to a similar matchup against Ole Miss and suggest the Cats have already delivered that kind of performance on the road. There are a lot of similarities between the Rebels and the Volunteers, and UK found a way to get it done it Oxford.

Travis Graf: I’m very hard pressed to find anything to be optimistic about currently in this matchup. Maybe the defense makes a lot of plays and keeps the Volunteers’ scoring output low like they did at Ole Miss? With the injuries on the roster and new guys getting a chance, maybe one or two of those players shows some big time juice? I’m not sure, I’m grasping for straws here.

Justin Rowland: We could say the obvious, that they played Georgia tough and won on the road at Ole Miss. But that was a long time ago and the trend is decidedly bad. I’ll put it more on the fact that Tennessee’s margin for error hasn’t been as great as you might have expected. Even though they’re top-10, they have played some ugly football at times.

What are the main reasons for concern?

Drummond: This isn’t the same Kentucky squad that went to Ole Miss and came back with what we thought at the time was a season-defining victory. The Cats are a M*A*S*H unit right now and will be playing without seven or eight key players at Tennessee. We don’t even know who the quarterback will be. The Vols’ Dylan Sampson is a terrific running back, and UK just saw Auburn run all over them. On top of all that, UT is a puzzle that Mark Stoops & Co. have never really found a way to solve outside of the unusual 2020 Covid season. The Cats seem to always play their worst games against this team.

Graf: Kentucky’s been massively underperforming and disappointing this season, and now the roster has been ransacked with injuries on top of that. The offense is anemic and there’s not much juice anywhere on the field. Kentucky’s offense isn’t capable of scoring 20 points, and Tennessee has yet to give up 20 points in a matchup this season. Their defense has honestly been their strength.

Rowland: There are many. Tennessee is running the ball well and Kentucky hasn’t been defending the run the past couple of weeks nearly as well as they were earlier in the year. It’s on the road at a place where Kentucky has not ordinarily played well. And the Wildcats are missing a lot of players. Did I mention we don’t even know who the quarterback is going to be?

What’s your game prediction and who is a Kentucky player who needs to perform well?

Drummond: Tennessee 41, Kentucky 6 — Six might be optimistic. I think the Vols can just about name their score in this one, barring some very strange circumstances and uncharacteristic play on their part. I can’t really name a UK MVP candidate with a straight face. Is there a Matt Roark lurking for a new generation?

Graf: Tennessee 31, Kentucky 10. I don’t see a way Kentucky keeps this one close with the offensive output we’ve seen thus far. The Tennessee offense has been lackluster for a lot of the season, but if things click they can pick the score.

Rowland: Deone Walker is Kentucky’s best draft prospect. He has occupied a lot of blockers this year but hasn’t had the highlight reel plays that have resulted in points or game-changing momentum. With so many guys out, he needs to be his absolute best, disruptive as heck and causing problems. The defense has to set the offense up for UK to have a chance. But it just seems like too tall an order. Tennessee 27, Kentucky 6.