Kentucky–Tennessee football rivalry
The Kentucky–Tennessee football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Kentucky Wildcats and Tennessee Volunteers. The border rivals have faced off on the gridiron since 1893, making it one of the oldest series in major college football. It was close in the early years, with Kentucky holding a series lead after the first 22 match-ups, but since the early 1930s, Tennessee has dominated the cross-border rivalry. Even -yeared games are played in Knoxville, and odd-yeared games are played in Lexington. The game has never been contested in any other location.
Tennessee Volunteers
| |
| Sport | Football |
|---|---|
| First meeting | October 21, 1893 Kentucky, 56–0 |
| Latest meeting | October 28, 2023 Tennessee, 33–27 |
| Next meeting | November 2, 2024 |
| Trophy | Beer Barrel (1925–1999) |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 119 |
| All-time series | Tennessee leads 83–26–9 |
| Largest victory | Kentucky, 56–0 (1893) |
| Longest win streak | Tennessee, 26 (1985–2010) |
| Current win streak | Tennessee, 3 (2021–present) |
Both schools were charter members of the Southeastern Conference when it was established in 1932. Since that season, Tennessee has a 54–14–3 record against Kentucky, including a streak of 26 straight victories from 1985 to 2010, which is one of the longest such streaks in NCAA history. The Wildcats did not win any games against the Volunteers during the 1940s, 1990s, or 2000s. The only decade of the SEC era in which UK posted a winning record against Tennessee was the 1950s, when they went 6–3–1. The series was not without disappointment even during that period for Kentucky fans, however, as the Vols dealt Bear Bryant's 1950 Wildcat squad its only defeat during its school-best 11–1 season.