How Kentucky football and No. 21 Tennessee match up — with a game prediction

How the Kentucky Wildcats (5-2, 2-2 SEC) and the No. 21 Tennessee Volunteers (5-2, 2-2 SEC) match up at each position — with a game prediction:

Quarterbacks

▪ Kentucky’s Devin Leary (1,377 passing yards on 54.4 percent completions with 14 touchdowns vs. seven interceptions) has had a tough go against SEC defenses. The 6-foot-1, 217-pound senior transfer from North Carolina State has completed only 47.5 percent of his throws (48-of-101) in league games and has thrown almost as many picks (four) as TDs (six). It has not helped Leary, a Sicklerville, New Jersey, product, that he has been plagued by drops by the UK receiving corps.

▪ Tennessee’s Joe Milton (1,533 passing yards, 62.8 percent completions, 12 TDs and four interceptions) played well in the Volunteers’ 34-20 loss at then-No. 11 Alabama last week. The 6-5, 235-pound super-senior completed 28 of 41 throws for 271 yards with two TDs and no picks. Having run for 232 yards and four touchdowns, the Pahokee, Florida, product can also make plays with his legs.

Advantage: Tennessee.

Running backs

▪ Kentucky star Ray Davis leads the SEC in all-purpose yards a game (139.1), rushing yards per carry (7.04), rushing yards per game (111.6), scoring (11.1) and total touchdowns (13). For the season, the 5-10, 216-pound senior transfer from Vanderbilt has run for 781 yards and eight touchdowns and caught 15 passes for 193 yards and five TDs. Last season at Vandy, Davis ran for 60 yards on 20 carries and caught five passes for 17 yards in a 56-0 loss to Tennessee. On his weekly radio show Monday night, Mark Stoops mentioned North Carolina State transfer Demie Sumo-Karngbaye (126 rushing yards, 9.1 yards a carry average, one TD; nine catches for 38 yards) as a player UK needs to get more involved in its offense.

▪ Tennessee star Jaylen Wright (team-high 593 rushing yards, 6.5 yards a carry, one touchdown) leads a three-headed Tennessee tailback rotation that has helped the Volunteers rank seventh in the FBS in rushing (217.3 yards a game). A 5-foot-11, 210-pound junior from Durham, North Carolina, Wright has gone over 100 yards rushing in four of UT’s seven games. In UT’s 44-6 demolition of UK last season, Wright ran for 73 yards and a TD on only seven carries. Jabari Small (383, 5.2, two) ran 21 times for 78 yards and also caught two passes for 17 yards and a TD vs. Kentucky in 2022. Sophomore Dylan Sampson has a nose for the goal line. The 5-11, 190-pound product of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has run for 301 yards (6.1 yards a carry) and six touchdowns.

Advantage: Even.

Wide receivers

▪ Coming off an open week, Kentucky hopes leading receivers Tayvion Robinson (23 catches, 338 yards, three touchdowns) and Barion Brown (23, 276, one) will have been able to shake off nagging injuries. Sophomore Dane Key (17, 282, two) has drawn praise from Mark Stoops in recent weeks for the commitment he has shown to improving his craft.

▪ Tennessee sophomore receiver Squirrel White leads the Volunteers in catches (39) and receiving yards (416). The 5-10, 165-pound Birmingham product returned to his home state last week and made a statement with 10 catches for 111 yards and a TD in the loss at Alabama. A 6-3, 197-pound senior, Ramel Keyton has 19 catches for 301 yards and three touchdowns. UT’s wideout depth was thinned by the loss of USC transfer Bru McCoy (17, 217, one) to a fractured ankle suffered in UT’s 41-20 win over South Carolina. McCoy caught six passes for 54 yards vs. Kentucky in 2022.

Advantage: Tennessee.

Tight ends

▪ Kentucky redshirt sophomore Jordan Dingle (seven catches, 137 receiving yards) caught two passes for a team-high 32 yards in the loss to Missouri. Last season in Knoxville, the 6-4, 238-pound Bowling Green product had a season high in receptions with four catches for 44 yards.

▪ Tennessee’s Jacob Warren, a 6-6, 253-pound super-senior, has nine catches for 75 yards, but three of his receptions have gone for touchdowns. In UT’s 45-42 shootout victory over Kentucky at Kroger Field in 2021, Warren had an 18-yard TD catch. Last week at Alabama, super-senior McCallan Castles caught a 6-yard TD pass. He has 11 catches for 136 yards and two TDs on the season.

Advantage: Even.

Offensive line

▪ Kentucky super-senior left guard Kenneth Horsey returned to action vs. Missouri after being sidelined since the season opener by a lower-leg injury. “Kenneth did some good things,” Stoops said. “He played well for (having been) out for ... weeks.” Right guard Jager Burton missed the Mizzou contest due to injury. Stoops said UK is “hopeful” of having Burton back this week.

▪ Tennessee senior center Cooper Mays missed the first four games of the UT season after undergoing a surgical procedure in August. UT is 13-3 in its past 16 games when Mays, a homegrown 6-3, 305-pound product of Knoxville, starts at center. With Mays back on the field, 6-4, 320-pound super-senior Ollie Lane has shifted from center to left guard.

Advantage: Even.

Defensive line

▪ Kentucky’s Deone Walker (25 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, four quarterback hurries, 3.5 sacks) was a disruptive force in the loss to Missouri. The 6-6, 348-pound sophomore from Detroit had seven tackles, six of them solo, with four tackles for loss and a sack. UK hopes to get nose guard Keeshawn Silver (nine tackles, two TFL) back after the 6-4, 322-pound sophomore transfer from North Carolina missed the Mizzou contest due to injury.

▪ Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce has been a terror on passing downs. The 6-5, 242-pound sophomore has 11 QB hurries, 10 tackles for loss and seven sacks. End Tyler Baron is having a strong senior season. The 6-5, 260-pound Knoxville product has made 16 tackles, 5.5 TFL, five sacks and four hurries. Senior tackle Omari Thomas (17 tackles, 4.5 TFL) has also been active.

Advantage: Tennessee.

Linebackers

▪ Kentucky MLB D’Eryk Jackson, a 6-1, 245-pound product of Dublin, Georgia, is tied for the team lead in tackles (44) and also has two pass breakups and an interception. Junior WLB Trevin Wallace (31 tackles, five TFL, 3.5 sacks) missed the Missouri game due to injury but is still atop the UK depth chart. In Wallace’s absence, Northern Illinois transfer Daveren Rayner filled in and made a team-high 10 tackles.

▪ Tennessee WLB Aaron Beasley leads the Volunteers in tackles with 45 and has 8.5 TFL. Backing up Beasley, former Great Crossing High School star Kalib Perry, a 6-3, 226-pound sophomore, has seven tackles. Sophomore MLB Elijah Herring has made 43 tackles.

Advantage: Tennessee.

Defensive backs

▪ Kentucky sophomore CB Maxwell Hairston made his fifth interception of the season vs. Missouri. The 6-1, 181-pound sophomore from West Bloomfield, Michigan, is also tied for the UK team lead in tackles with 44. With the injury to veteran safety Jalen Geiger, true freshman Ty Bryant was pressed into action vs. Mizzou — and the Frederick Douglass High School product made four tackles. “He did some good things, for a true freshman,” Mark Stoops said of Bryant.

▪ Tennessee redshirt senior CB Kamal Hadden has broken up eight passes, intercepted three and has made 19 tackles. Hybrid safety/linebacker Tamarion McDonald has made 33 stops, 3.5 TFL and has broken up three passes and picked one. Safety Jaylen McCollough has 28 tackles and three pass breakups.

Advantage: Tennessee.

Special teams

▪ Kentucky punter Wilson Berry (40.1 yards a punt, seven of 28 kicks stopped inside the opponents’ 20-yard line) has struggled in UK’s past two games. “We’re covering well,” Mark Stoops said of the UK punt team. “We got to get back to hitting the ball like we’re capable of.” Place-kicker Alex Raynor is 6-of-6 on field-goal tries with a long of 50 yards.

▪ Tennessee has blocked three kicks — a punt, a PAT and a field-goal attempt. Return ace Dee Williams (17.7 yards a punt return average) uncorked a 39-yard punt return touchdown in the third quarter vs. Texas A&M that gave UT the lead for good in what became a 20-13 win. Punter Jackson Ross is averaging 43.8 yards a kick and has pinned foes inside their 20-yard line on 12 of 29 kicks. Place-kicker Charles Campbell is 11 of 13 on field goals with a long of 42 yards. His only two misses have come from beyond 50 yards.

Advantage: Tennessee.

Prediction

Tennessee 26, Kentucky 17.