Can Will Stein solve Jim Knowles again? Kentucky HC previews Tennessee road test

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Can Will Stein solve Jim Knowles again? Kentucky HC previews Tennessee road test

Olamilekan Ajayi · Gridiron Heroics

Tue, November 3, 2026 at 11:55 PM UTC ·

3 min read

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The Kentucky Wildcats are 7-1 and ranked No. 8 in Will Stein's first season, and Stein opened his Tuesday press conference by laying out what the No. 16 Tennessee Volunteers look like from his side of Saturday's game at Neyland Stadium.

"We have a, you know, awesome opportunity this week to play an elite SEC opponent in Tennessee on the road. You know, I think they're playing extremely well as a team. They could easily be eight and zero. You know, they had a close loss to Texas at home and obviously lost to South Carolina on a last second field goal, so this will be a really big test for us as a program going into a hostile environment in Knoxville … Jim Knowles, a defensive coordinator. You know, I think he's one of the elite defensive minds in college football as well. This will be my fourth time going against Coach Knowles. I have all the respect in the world for him … It's a top 20 defense in about every major statistical category on defense. They're number one in sacks, number two in TFLs … They have eight seniors on defense, so it's a veteran group. I think that is a big piece in how they're able to operate cleanly," Stein said.

2026 10 04T011621Z 102366500 MT1USATODAY29992322 RTRMADP 3 NCAA FOOTBALL KENTUCKY AT SOUTH CAROLINA scaled — Oct 3, 2026; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Will Stein calls for a two-point conversion for the game-winning point during overtime against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

Tennessee's two losses came by a combined six points, which gives Stein's 8-0 line some support. The Texas Longhorns won 20-17 in Knoxville as the No. 1 team in the country, and the South Carolina Gamecocks won 27-24 after a George MacIntyre fumble set up the winning kick.

Does Will Stein have an answer for Jim Knowles?

Ohio State Jim Knowles — Ohio State Defensive Coordinator Jim Knowles

Stein's three earlier games against Knowles all came as the offensive coordinator of the Oregon Ducks, and he won two of them. Oregon beat Knowles' Ohio State Buckeyes 32-31 in the 2024 regular season, lost the Rose Bowl rematch 41-21, then beat his Penn State Nittany Lions 30-24 in double overtime last season.

Kentucky has the fewest penalty flags in the SEC with 36 this season , while Tennessee ranks 108th nationally in penalties and committed 12 for 90 yards in the South Carolina loss.

Neyland broke the college football decibel record in Tennessee's Oct. 17 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide, who committed six pre-snap penalties in a 26-10 loss. Kentucky gets the same building on Saturday.

Does Will Stein have an answer for Jim Knowles?

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