Tennessee Football on Sunday came in at No. 7 in both the Coaches Poll and the Associated Press Top 25, moving up one spot in the Coaches Poll while staying put in the AP Top 25 following the Vols’ second bye week of the season.

Tennessee (6-1, 3-1 SEC) hosts Kentucky (3-5, 1-5) on Saturday night in a 7:45 Eastern Time kickoff at Neyland Stadium. The game will be televised by SEC Network.

The Wildcats lost 24-10 to Auburn at Kroger Field in Lexington Saturday night.

Tennessee is in the midst of four straight home games after playing three of the first five games of the season away from home. The Vols rolled Chattanooga 69-3 and Kent State 71-0 at Neyland Stadium in September, beat NC State 51-10 in Charlotte and won 25-15 at Oklahoma, before falling 19-14 at Arkansas on October 5.

The bounce back over the last two weeks was a 23-17 overtime win over Florida on October 12 and the 24-17 win over Alabama last week. Tennessee hosts Mississippi State next week, after Kentucky comes to town.

The regular-season schedule closes with two of three games away from home. Tennessee goes to Georgia on November 16, hosts UTEP on November 23 and goes to Vanderbilt on November 30.

Tennessee dropped to No. 8 in both the AP Top 25 and the Coaches Poll after the 19-14 loss at Arkansas two weeks ago, falling from No. 4 in the AP poll and No. 5 in the Coaches Poll.

The Vols had made steady climbs in both rankings after lopsided wins over Chattanooga (69-3), North Carolina State (51-10) and Kent State (71-0) and the 25-15 win at Oklahoma. 

The AP Poll moved Tennessee up to No. 14 in Week 2, No. 7 in Week 3, No. 6 in Week 4 and No. 5 two weeks ago. The Coaches Poll had the Vols at No. 12 in Week 2, No. 9 in Week 3, No. 7 in Week 4 and No. 6 two weeks ago.

Tennessee moved up one spot to No. 4 in both the AP Top 25 and the Coaches Poll last week during the open date. The Vols started the season ranked No. 15 in both the Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25. 

The Kentucky-Tennessee Series

Tennessee is 84-26-9 in a series that dates back to October 21, 1893. The Vols are 3-0 against Kentucky during the Josh Heupel era, winning 45-42 at Kentucky in 2021, 44-6 at Neyland Stadium in 2022 and 33-27 at Kentucky last season. 

The Wildcats have just three wins in the series since 1985. Kentucky won 10-7 in Lexington in 2011, ending a run of 26 straight losses to the Vols, won 29-26 in 2017 and 34-7 in 2020.

Tennessee went 19-1-2 against Kentucky between 1926 and 1951, won 11 straight between 1965 and 1975 and started its streak of 26 in a row with a 42-0 win in Lexington in 1985.