One of the rules of the universe on Rocky Top is for Tennessee football to beat the Kentucky Wildcats. Losing to them in 2011 set off a chain of events that cost Derek Dooley his job. Butch Jones was fired two games after he lost to them in 2017.
Those are the Vols’ only two losses to UK since 1984. Even last year, en route to a 5-7 season while the Wildcats had their best season in decades, Jeremy Pruitt’s first team managed to dominate this rivalry once known as the Battle for the Beer Barrel by a score of 24-7.