Tennessee and Kentucky have one of the longest running rivalries in the Southeastern Conference and college football.
The Volunteers and Wildcats will renew acquaintances on the gridiron in Lexington on Saturday.
Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. EDT at Kroger Field and the game will be televised by ESPN2.
The Tennessee-Kentucky series dates back to 1893 and Saturday’s meeting will mark the 117th time the two rivals have played. The Vols hold an 81-26-9 advantage in the series.
One current head coach, Randy Sanders, has deep ties to both schools.
A native of Morristown, Tennessee, Sanders was a quarterback for the Vols between 1984-88. He graduated from Morristown East High School and is now the head coach at East Tennessee State.
Under his guidance in 2021, the Buccaneers have a 7-1 record, including a 23-3 victory at Vanderbilt.
A backup at Tennessee, Sanders began his coaching career with the Vols in 1989 under head coach Johnny Majors.
Sanders, who has been ETSU’s head coach since 2018, coached at Tennessee between 1989-2005, serving as quarterbacks coach, wide receivers coach, running backs coach, recruiting coordinator and offensive coordinator.
He and Tennessee parted ways in 2005.
After his time at Tennessee, Sanders went to Kentucky, serving as quarterbacks coach between 2006-12. He was the Wildcats’ offensive coordinator between 2009-12.
Sanders coached at Florida State in 2013, serving as quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator until 2017.
During his first year at ETSU, he guided the Buccaneers to an 8-4 record and a share of the Southern Conference championship. He has a 22-16 record as ETSU’s head coach.
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