Kentucky can catch Vols looking ahead to Georgia

Tennessee is in the midst of a magical season. Two weeks removed from an impressive 52-49 win over Alabama, and currently ranked as the No. 3 team in the country, the Volunteers have a realistic possibility of making it to the SEC Championship game for the first time since 2007 and perhaps even their firstever trip to the College Football Playoff. Good ol’ Rocky Top, indeed.

But before the Vols can start dreaming about a trip to Atlanta, they’ll need to take care of business as 11.5-point favorites against No. 19 Kentucky.

It has been an uneven first seven games of the season for the Wildcats, who come into Knoxville, Tenn., with a 5-2 record. One of Kentucky’s losses came in a three-point heartbreaker to Ole Miss, while the other was a dud performance, without starting quarterback Will Levis, against a surging South Carolina team.

Despite the inconsistency, there are reasons to believe Kentucky can slow down the vaunted Tennessee offense, which ranks second nationally with 47.7 points per game.

Tennessee’s offensive numbers are off the charts, but the Wildcats do a great job at preventing explosive plays and Kentucky’s defense ranks fifth in rushing success rate, 14th in passing success rate and fifth in finishing drives, so the Wildcats could keep the Vols in their sights long enough to cover this number.

Tennessee has Georgia on deck next Saturday, so it might have one eye on the matchup against the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs. Take Kentucky to cover the double-digit spread.

THE PLAY: Kentucky +12.5.