Series snapshot: Tennessee vs. Kentucky

Tennessee has dominated its border rivalry with Kentucky.

The series dates back nearly 130 years and has been played annually since 1919 (expect for the 1943 season when Tennessee didn't field a team due to World War II). The Vols hold a commanding lead at 82-26-9 and have won 34 of the last 37 meetings.

When the two teams meet at Neyland Stadium on Saturday at 7 p.m. (ESPN), it will be the first time since 1951 that both are ranked. For No. 3 Tennessee (7-0, 3-0 SEC), a win would inch it closer to an SEC championship game berth while No. 19 Kentucky (5-2, 2-2 SEC) is seeking its second-straight win in Knoxville for the first time since 1962 and 1964.

Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker was 15-for-20 passing for 316 yards and four touchdowns, including a 75-yard scoring toss to JaVonta Payton on the first play of the game.

Kentucky quarterback Will Levis tallied 372 yards and three scores through the air, but a critical interception that was returned by Alontae Taylor for a 56-yard touchdown turned a three-point game into a double-digit lead for the Vols late in the third quarter.

Remarkably, Kentucky held a sizable advantage in time of possession, holding on to the ball for more than 46 minutes compared to Tennessee's 13 minutes, 52 seconds, but the Vols' quickness in getting to the end zone helped them to a 45-42 win.

For 72 years, the winner of the Tennessee-Kentucky game was awarded a wooden beer barrel that was painted orange, white and blue with the dates and scores of each game posted on the sides.

The Vols took possession of the barrel for the final time after beating the Wildcats 59-31 in Lexington on Nov. 22, 1997 behind a 523-yard passing day from Peyton Manning.

In the week leading up to the 1998 meeting in Knoxville, two Kentucky players were killed in an alcohol-related car accident and both teams agreed to not exchange the barrel going forward.

It's whereabouts remain a topic of discussion every season, though.

"I have not seen the barrel," Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said on the SEC Coaches Teleconference on Wednesday. "I don't know where it's located, if it is located here in Knoxville."

According to ESPN's Chris Low, the barrel is currently being stored in an equipment room at Tennessee's football facility, where it will likely remain as neither school has at least publicly committed to reinstating the "trophy" to the rivalry.

Nov. 24, 2007: Tennessee clinched the SEC East and a spot in the conference championship game in Atlanta with 52-50 win over Kentucky in four overtimes in Lexington.

Erik Ainge broke a program record that still stands with seven touchdown passes as the Vols held off the Wildcats after giving up a 17-point second half lead. The difference was Ainge's 40-yard touchdown pass to Quintin Hancock, which was followed by a successful two-point conversion attempt in the fourth overtime on an Ainge pass to Austin Rogers.

Kentucky answered but quarterback Andre Woodson was stopped by Antonio Reynolds on the ensuing two-point attempt to preserve the win.

Nov. 25, 1950: In one of Kentucky's best seasons in program history, it was Tennessee that spoiled the Wildcats' perfect season.

Led by head coach Bear Bryant, Kentucky came to Shields-Watkins Field unbeaten at 10-0 and ranked No. 3, but on a cold day in Knoxville in front of a crowd of 46,000 fans, General Robert Neyland's Vols pulled off a 7-0 victory en route to an 11-1 finish and a share of the national championship.

Nov. 17, 2001: Kentucky quarterback Jared Lorenzen passed for two first-half touchdowns and ran for another as the Wildcats built up a 21-7 lead over Tennessee at halftime.

The Vols didn't score until late in the second quarter, but two third-quarter touchdowns had Tennessee within a touchdown heading into the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Casey Clausen tied the game with a 23-yard touchdown to Dante Stallworth, then connected with Stallworth again for a 39-yard score with six minutes and three seconds left. Kentucky evened it up at 35-35 ,but Alex Walls' 44-yard field goal with less than three minutes to go helped the Vols to a critical SEC East win.

*****

– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.

– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.

– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @TMansfieldMedia, @JNichols_2121, @ByNoahTaylor, @TylerIvens, @RealTBannerman.