Staff picks: No. 3 Tennessee vs. No. 19 Kentucky

Sitting at 7-0 on the season and ranked No. 3 in the latest AP Top 25 poll, Tennessee plays another monumental SEC game on Saturday against No. 19 Kentucky at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.

Ahead of Saturday's showdown, the VolReport staff is sharing its predictions. Who'll come out on top – the Vols or Wildcats? Here's a look at how we see the game playing out.

Tennessee is on a roll, and I don't see Kentucky stopping the Vols' momentum on Saturday. Josh Heupel's team is playing at a very high level and has wins over Alabama, Florida and LSU. If the Vols can knock off each of those three opponents, I don't think they'll have a problem beating the Wildcats – who have been up and down this season – this weekend.

It's a rivalry game, and Kentucky will certainly try and put together its best performance, but I'm riding with Tennessee to move to 8-0 on the year.

Tyler's pick: Tennessee 35, Kentucky 27

Tennessee and Kentucky are two drastically different teams right now. The Vols score fast while the Wildcats’ best chance at success is sustaining long drives. It’s an approach that Tennessee hasn’t really had to face yet this season, but this Vols team is just too good on offense right now.

I expect them to go up a couple of scores early, which will force Kentucky to have to match them touchdown for touchdown to have a chance. I don’t see the Wildcats being able to do that.

Noah's pick: Tennessee 42, Kentucky 24

Some have labeled this as a potential trap game for Tennessee. I don’t see it that way, especially with the way Josh Heupel has been able to keep his team focused week in and week out.

If the Vols’ defense can muster the same approach it did against Alabama, Will Levis and Chris Rodriguez shouldn’t prove too much of an issue. Barion Brown is the greatest scoring threat for the ‘Cats, and I think he could take one back on Saturday.

That alone won’t be nearly enough to overcome the Vols’ quick-strike offense, though, especially with Hendon Hooker playing at such an elite level right now.

Jake's pick: Tennessee 38, Kentucky 20

The Vols have the best offense in the country right now. The high-volume offense could be too much for the Wildcats, but I wouldn’t completely count them out.

This game features two of the best quarterbacks in college football, and it should be a high scoring one. As long as Tennessee's defense can get stops and get the ball back into the offense's hands, it should be a good game for the Vols.

I think they will get ahead early and keep going from there.

Tyler's pick: Tennessee 45, Kentucky 31

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