Kentucky football travels to Neyland Stadium to take on the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday night. Kentucky is undefeated on the road this season in tough environments in the SEC at Texas A&M, at South Carolina and at Oklahoma. However, this one will be a bit of a different animal. We have previewed the Vols offense and defense, given our X factors for the game, but how does Kentucky pull off the upset and leave Knoxville with a win?

Play Clean

Kentucky has done such a tremendous job this season at playing clean on the offensive side of the football, but in one of the most hostile environments in the country it will be under a microscope. Kentucky has to continue this clean operation. Kenny Minchey has not thrown an interception since week two, he has to take care of the football in this game especially. Turnovers can lead to short fields for a Tennessee offense that has struggled this season, Kentucky cannot make it easy for them and they need to ensure they have to drive the length of the full field to score points.

Not only does Minchey need to keep playing clean, but the entire offensive operation. Kentucky is first in SEC with just 4.5 penalties per game, they have excelled in not beating themselves in these games. In front of a rowdy crowd of 100,000-plus fans, communication and knowing your assignment is key. Kentucky has prepared for eight weeks for this moment, to be able to go on the road and execute all the pre snap movement effectively to run their full offense on the road.

Opening Game Script

We detailed the matchup between Will Stein and Jim Knowles, as this will be their fourth meeting against each other. The only game Stein lost and his offense struggled, the game got out of hand quickly as Ohio State stormed to a 34-0 lead before half over Oregon. This Kentucky offense cannot comeback down 17 points like they did on the road against South Carolina. Tennessee getting an early lead would allow them to lean on the run game and let their defensive line pin their ears back rushing the passer as it would put Kentucky in a dropback heavy game script.

This is why the opening game script is critical for Kentucky to get in a favorable game script. This game is similar to the Oklahoma game in a lot of ways, and that was the best opening drive of the season for Kentucky's offense as they went on a 13-play, 67-yard drive that ended in a touchdown. Kentucky needs a fast start to get an early lead, it takes the crowd out of it a bit and can force Tennessee into an uncomfortable dropback heavy game. Kentucky needs to play with the full playbook available, so they need to either play with a lead or a close game scenario.

Win Early Downs

Kentucky has struggled on third downs on both sides of the football this season, but they have consistently won on early downs. This has to continue, the offense has been extremely efficient on early downs which has led to picking up first downs on those early downs. Kentucky's best third down offense is avoiding them all together, especially in a hostile environment like this. Kentucky needs to pick up at least around half of their third downs, but the best case is maintaining their efficiency on early downs.

Same can be said for the Wildcats defense, as they have also struggled to get teams off the field on third downs but Tennessee's offense is also struggling on third downs as they rank 15th in the SEC in conversion rate. Tennessee is at their best offensively when they get in third and short where they can continue to run the football. Kentucky has to slow down DeSean Bishop in the run game on early downs to put Tennessee in obvious passing downs. Winning on early downs is a key area for Kentucky to win this football game.