Kentucky–Tennessee football rivalry explained

Wide:yes
Kentucky–Tennessee football rivalry
Team1logo:Kentucky Wildcats logo.svg
Team2logo:Tennessee Volunteers logo.svg
Firstmeeting:October 21, 1893
Kentucky, 56–0
Mostrecent:October 28, 2023
Tennessee, 33–27
Nextmeeting:November 2, 2024
Total:119
Series:Tennessee leads 83–26–9
Largestvictory:Kentucky, 56–0 (1893)
Longeststreak:Tennessee, 26 (1985–2010)
Currentstreak:Tennessee, 3 (2021–present)
Trophy:Beer Barrel (1925–1999)

The Kentucky–Tennessee football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Kentucky Wildcats and Tennessee Volunteers.[1] 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.

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.

The Barrel

History of the trophy

The Kentucky–Tennessee game once involved a trophy: a wooden beer barrel painted half blue and half orange which was awarded to the winner of the game every year from 1925 to 1997. The Barrel was introduced in 1925 by a group of former Kentucky students who wanted to create a material sign of their school's supremacy in the rivalry. It was rolled onto the field that year with the words "Ice Water" painted on it to avoid any outcries over an alcohol drum symbolizing a college rivalry during the Prohibition era.

While the trophy was ceremonially awarded to the game's winner each year, it took some unauthorized trips over the years. Tennessee lost to Kentucky in 1953, but several orange-clad students "keg-napped" the barrel and kept it hidden in Knoxville until UK students retaliated by "dog-napping" Smokey. The barrel theft set in motion a series of additional pranks over the next few years between students of the two schools, but the barrel was not involved.

Vanderbilt University students stole the keg from Kentucky in 1960 to rally support from cross-state UT students in an upcoming basketball game against Kentucky. The Commodores lost the game and returned the trophy months later.

End of the Barrel era

A fatal alcohol-related car crash involving two UK football players a week before the 1998 contest prompted the end of the barrel exchange. Kentucky athletic director C. M. Newton expressed the idea that the ongoing use of an alcohol container as a trophy would be inappropriate under the circumstances. The ceremony was cancelled for the 1998 game, and the two schools mutually agreed to permanently discontinue the tradition before the 1999 game.[2] [3]

The actual barrel was in UT's possession when the schools ended the exchange, but its current whereabouts have not been made public. It has not been displayed since 1997, and it was not transferred to Kentucky when the Wildcats broke the Volunteers' long series winning streak in 2011.[4] On November 12, 2019, Tennessee's tight ends coach Brian Niedermeyer posted a photo of the barrel on Twitter.[5]

Notable games

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ESPN. November 25, 2008. Breaking down SEC rivalry games.
  2. Web site: Archived copy . August 25, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160506164926/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-ZBBAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Q6kMAAAAIBAJ&dq=barrel%20tennessee%20kentucky&pg=6281,2459843 . May 6, 2016 . dead .
  3. Web site: Low. Chris. Alabama looks to break six-game losing streak in Iron Bowl. ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. April 24, 2015. November 25, 2008.
  4. News: Smithey. Jesse. Smithey: UT, Kentucky unlikely to roll out barrel. April 24, 2015. Knoxville News Sentinel. Gannett Company. December 17, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20081122052022/http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2005/dec/17/smithey-ut-kentucky-unlikely-to-roll-out-barrel/. November 22, 2008.
  5. News: Burk. Tonja. THE UT/UK RIVALRY BEER BARREL STILL EXISTS, AND TENNESSEE'S STILL GOT IT. November 12, 2019. WBIR. WBIR Sports. November 12, 2019.
  6. Web site: Tennessee holds off UK in quadruple-OT thriller. November 24, 2007.
  7. Web site: Vols best Kentucky to send Fulmer out a winner. November 14, 2016.
  8. Web site: Hardesty's 3 TDs lead Tennessee past Kentucky. November 14, 2016.
  9. Web site: Kentucky ends 26-game skid vs. Tennessee, which will miss bowl. November 14, 2016.
  10. Web site: Derek Dooley tells all in interview with Outkick. June 16, 2016.
  11. Web site: Kentucky wins at Tennessee for first time since 1984, throttling Volunteers with stifling defense. CBSSports.com. "Kentucky forced four turnovers in the first half alone and snapped a 17-game road losing streak in the series with a dominant 34–7 victory over No. 18 Tennessee at Neyland Stadium on Saturday. It was Kentucky's largest margin of victory in the series since 1935".
  12. Web site: Kentucky vs. Tennessee – Game Summary – October 17, 2020 – ESPN.

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