Tennessee football road woes: Are Vols more in danger vs. Kentucky or Missouri?
Tennessee's road woes are looking more like reality than myth.
Alabama rarely has been more beatable during Nick Saban's tenure than it was Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Vols owned the first half. They were up by two scores at halftime, and their domination was more lopsided than that.
And then Tennessee experienced an all-systems failure in the second half and watched No. 8 Alabama run away with a 34-20 victory.
The Vols (5-2, 2-2 SEC) have not won in Tuscaloosa since 2003. Not coincidentally, they have not won in The Swamp since 2003, either.
In real time, here's what's most concerning about the Vols' road struggles: They'll play at Kentucky (5-2, 2-2) on Saturday and must play at No. 16 Missouri (7-1, 3-1) on Nov. 11.
The land mines remaining on UT's schedule go beyond a Nov. 18 home game against No. 1 Georgia.
On this edition of "The Volunteer State," Blake Toppmeyer of the USA TODAY Network and the News Sentinel's Adam Sparks and John Adams examine what went wrong in the second half in Tuscaloosa and just how vulnerable Tennessee is against Kentucky. The Wildcats are no Alabama, but they beat Florida in Lexington.
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So, who's more of a threat to beat Tennessee, Kentucky or Missouri?
TOPPMEYER: Never retire, Nick Saban. Why Alabama football needs him more than ever
ADAMS: Fourt-and-1 or fourth-and-dumb for Tennessee vs. Alabama?
SPARKS: How's Nico Iamaleava doing? Josh Heupel fills us in
Here's how we see it:
Sparks: Missouri. The Tigers are the better team, but I'll make a brief case for Kentucky. The Wildcats are coming off an open date, so they should be prepared. The atmosphere in Lexington ought to be lively for this night game. The Wildcats get fired up for Tennessee. But, Missouri's offense is better than Kentucky's, making the Tigers more threatening.
Adams: Missouri. I think Kentucky is done. Toast. See ya in the Liberty Bowl. Georgia took its dignity, and then Mark Stoops said he needed more NIL money at his disposal to pursue better players. What a message to send to your team. Missouri is a good team. Kentucky was a fake-good team that got unmasked for a fraud. Missouri beat Kentucky by 17 points in Lexington. Case closed.
Toppmeyer: Missouri. The Tigers boast one of the SEC's most exciting offenses. They've got a quarterback, running back and wide receiver all playing at a high level. We'd gotten used to Josh Heupel's teams enjoying a persistent offensive advantage over opponents. That's changed. I'd favor Missouri's offense over Tennessee's, and the Tigers aren't bad on defense, either. Missouri fans can be a bit fair weather, but with the opportunity for its best season since at least 2014, I think Tigers fans will show up for the Vols.
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Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. John Adams is the News Sentinel's senior columnist. Adam Sparks covers the Vols. You can subscribe to read all their coverage, or check out the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox. They also host the lightly acclaimed "SEC Football Unfiltered" podcast.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Kentucky football or Missouri? Who poses bigger risk to Tennessee Vols?
