Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declined to label Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” in an interview with Politico published Sunday, instead critiquing the question as a litmus test among Democrats.
Kentucky
LIVE BLOG: Kentucky at Tennessee
Kentucky is trying to avoid its first four-game losing streak since 2015 when they take the field Saturday night at Neyland Stadium to play the seventh-ranked Tennessee Volunteers. Kickoff is at 7:45 pm EST on the SEC Network.
It’s going to be a raucous Saturday night in Knoxville. A sell-out crowd is on hand as the Vols go into Dark Mode. They’re 4-0 in blackout games and Josh Heupel is 20-0 outright as a home favorite. His teams have scored a touchdown in five plays or less every time they’ve faced the Wildcats. However, they have been scoreless in the first half of each of their last three games. That’s one trend Kentucky will need to remain consistent to have a shot at knocking off another Top 10 team.
Check back here throughout the night for live updates. You can also join the conversation on the KSBoard Game Thread. Join KSR+ today and get seven days for $1.
Stay Classy, Tennessee Fans
11/2/2024, 9:24:36 PM
Tre’vonn Rybka was banged up on the bottom of the pile. Tennessee fans believe every injury is fake, so the student section chanted something the broadcast probably wishes they could’ve edited out.
Fourth Down Scramble Helps Tennessee Score
11/2/2024, 9:13:38 PM
Kentucky was oh so close to preserving a shutout. On fourth and 5, Kentucky rushed four. Nico Iamaleava broke contain to his left and scrambled for a first down. A few plays later, he found a wide-open tight end downfield to get the ball inside the 10. The defense didn’t go down without a fight, but the Vols punched it in from the 1-yard line.
Freshman Peyton Lewis scored the first touchdown of his career. It’s the first Tennessee touchdown in the first half since September. Kentucky will get the ball back with 4:45 left until halftime. Vols will receive the ball first in the second half.
Penalties Kill the Kentucky Drive
11/2/2024, 9:01:47 PM
Tennessee was the primary penalized, flagged four times early in the game. It finally bit Kentucky. Brock Vandagriff scrambled to regain a bunch of yards lost by a sack, but it was all for not. A holding penalty, followed by a false start, backed up Kentucky inside their own 5-yard line.
Fortunately, Aidan Laros’ leg bailed out the Cats. The Kentucky punter bombed it 56 yards. The Tennessee return man couldn’t catch it cleanly, recovering the muffed punt right away. Tennessee starts the drive on their own 36.
ANOTHER TENNESSEE MISSED FIELD GOAL!
11/2/2024, 8:57:41 PM
The Kentucky defense came up with two huge plays in the red zone. Tennessee had a touchdown until Jordan Lovett absolutely rocked the tight end to jar the ball free. On third and long, Nico got hit by three UK defenders before Tyreese Fearbry recorded the sack. The 40-yard field goal was missed, keeping the Vols off the scoreboard, still trailing 7-0.
Entering tonight’s game, Max Gilbert was perfect on field goals of 45 yards or less. He has two misses from inside that distance tonight.
Barion Brown Sidelined with a Rib Injury
11/2/2024, 8:50:12 PM
The Kentucky wide receiver picked up 15 yards on a screen pass. When he was tackled he took a shot to the ribs. Dick Gabriel reports he left the injury tent with ice on his side. Consider him questionable to return.
First Quarter Stats: Kentucky Leads 7-0
11/2/2024, 8:44:06 PM
Tennessee has gone four straight first quarters without scoring a point.
This was not a penalty?
11/2/2024, 8:39:53 PM
Prior to Brock Vandagriff’s interception, he scrambled out of bounds. A Tennessee player standing on the sideline didn’t try to catch the Kentucky QB. He stuck his hands out and knocked Vandagriff to the ground. The official was looking right at this, but no flag was thrown. Why?
Kentucky Takes it Back!
11/2/2024, 8:38:00 PM
Two plays after the Kentucky interception, Keeshawn Silver ripped the ball from Dylan Sampson’s hands and Jamon Dumas-Johnson recovered it. This game is approaching Banana Land.
Another Tip-Ball Interception
11/2/2024, 8:33:31 PM
If Brock Vandagriff throws a pick, there’s a good chance it happened after it hit one of his players. He tried leading Hardley Gilmore inside, away from the defense. The freshman reached out and it slipped through his hands and into the Tennessee defender’s. Vols’ ball at the Kentucky 45-yard line.
Tennessee Drops a Touchdown
11/2/2024, 8:27:48 PM
It looked like Kentucky made a costly penalty. A facemask wiped away a Tennessee 3rd and 14 and moved the chains for the Vols. Nico saw the matchup he wanted and dialed up a deep ball to Chris Brazzell. It was a beautiful pass and looked like a 49-yard touchdown, but the transfer from Tulane could not survive the impact of the ground. The ball was dropped and the Cats were able to take down Nico on third and long to give Kentucky two straight stops.
Look at that Tight End Touchdown
11/2/2024, 8:23:19 PM
Throwing it more to the tight end actually worked.
Explosive Offense?!?! Kentucky Scores First!
11/2/2024, 8:18:32 PM
Benching Brock Vandagriff lit a fire under the worst passing offense in the SEC. He connected with Hardley Gilmore for a 25-yard gain to start the drive, then hit Dane Key on third and eight for a gain of 17. They finished the drive by going five-wide and NOT running a QB draw. They threw and Josh Kattus was wide open for a 27-yard touchdown.
Kentucky can’t score in the red zone, so they’re scoring from outside of the red zone. What a time to be alive.
Kentucky Defense Holds Up to Force a Missed Field Goal
11/2/2024, 8:11:37 PM
Tennessee was rocking and rolling. It looked like things were going to get out of hand until Tennessee native Tre’vonn Rybka came up with a second down sack to put the Vols behind the chains. On third and long, Kentucky stopped the Vols about six yards short of the line to gain.
Rather than letting them kick the field goal from there, Mark Stoops accepted a Tennessee holding penalty. A great tackle on a screen pass forced a 43-yard field goal. Max Gilbert hit a low line drive and missed it, just his fourth miss in 16 attempts this season.
Another Empty Red Zone Possession
11/2/2024, 8:02:19 PM
It wasn’t the 2-yard line, but it is the fourth straight week Kentucky has gotten the ball inside the 10-yard line and came away with zero points.
The second down pass into the end zone was tipped into the air and nearly intercepted. Kentucky escaped by a hair and a Brock Vandagriff QB draw made it 4th and 2. Instead of taking the points, Mark Stoops chose to go for it. The play-action play design was creative, but Tennessee blitzed and played man. Nobody got open, resulting in a turnover on downs. We just can’t have nice things.
An Explosive Play?!?!?!
11/2/2024, 8:01:08 PM
Kentucky did not have one run for 30+ yards this season. On the first play from scrimmage, Jamarion Wilcox went 50 yards right through the heart of the second-best run defense in college football. Kentucky is inside the red zone three plays into the game.
“Vols” signage is absolutely gigantic
11/2/2024, 7:55:33 PM
Tennessee athletic director Danny White brought back the “VOLS” letters at the top of the stadium after fans had been clamoring for them for years. I can’t understate how big they arm. In a monstrosity of a stadium, they stand out in a ridiculous way.
Tennessee wins the toss and defers
11/2/2024, 7:54:08 PM
Josh Heupel has decided to let his defense go on the field first after winning the toss. This game will begin with Kentucky getting the football. All signs point to Brock Vandagriff getting the start.
Can Kentucky avoid another slow start? The Vols have jumped out early in every game since Heupel took over in Knoxville.
Beer Barrel Back?
11/2/2024, 7:46:44 PM
The Beer Barrel was traded back and forth for decades until the DUI tragedy that killed a Kentucky Wildcat one week prior to the 1998 matchup. The original still sits in the Tennessee equipment manager’s office. One Vol fan has created his own version of the Beer Barrel and even had mugs made for the occasion.
Packed House at Neyland
11/2/2024, 7:42:28 PM
Even though Erik Ainge and other UT hacks were describing this game as a CFB Playoff Dress Rehearsal, you couldn’t tell that by the way the fans are treating it. Tennessee fans filled most of the seats in the stadium more than 35 minutes before kickoff. They are not lacking any juice for this Dark Mode game.
Last-Minute Player Updates
11/2/2024, 7:37:29 PM
Daveren Rayner plans on using his redshirt this year. He has one game to retain his eligibility and Mark Stoops tells Tom Leach he will use it tonight. We may even see him some at Jack LB to spell JJ Weaver.
Brock Vandagriff will start at quarterback for Kentucky. Gavin Wimsatt will still be used from time to time.
How To Watch/Listen
“That’s becoming one of those new litmus tests that we said we would never do as a party again,” Beshear told Politico’s Dasha Burns after being asked if he agreed with the label. “It’s trying to throw out a word and, ‘Are you going to raise your hand or are you not going to?’”
Beshear is the Democratic governor of a solidly red state and a potential 2028 presidential contender. His remarks come as Democratic candidates increasingly grapple with their stances on Israel amid record-low support for Israel among their base.
While several lawmakers, including Vermont’s Jewish Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent, have called Israel’s actions in Gaza a “genocide,” the label has not gained mainstream support in the Democratic Party. Last October, former Vice President Kamala Harris declined to use the “genocide” label, which Israel had long rejected, but said, “We should all step back and ask this question and be honest about it.”
Some Democrats have embraced the question, with a New York congressional candidate telling the leftist streamer Hasan Piker this week that she is “100%” comfortable with the issue serving as a litmus test in her party.
Others have acted as though the litmus test is already in place. In January, for example, California congressional candidate Scott Wiener announced that he believes Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute a genocide after drawing scrutiny for declining to answer the question during a debate.
Beshear critiques Trump, Netanyahu
While Beshear told Burns that Israel “has the right to exist as a democratic country, as a Jewish country,” he added that his feelings about President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct during the war in Gaza and ongoing war in Iran were “a different thing.”
“I believe the United States needs a strong Israel, but not one with decisions being made in the way that Netanyahu is making them,” Beshear said.
Beshear also critiqued President Donald Trump’s response to the crisis in Gaza.
“I believe that it could have been done without a lot of the suffering, but I put a lot of that blame also on Donald Trump,” he said. “If he’d said we are coming in and we are bringing food and aid and you are going to make sure that we’re safe, it would’ve happened.”
Last week, a spokesperson for Beshear told Politico that “AIPAC has never contributed to Governor Beshear and they’re never going to – ever,” a response that dovetailed with a host of other potential Democratic presidential candidates, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who are increasingly distancing themselves from the pro-Israel lobby.
“I think that’s up to each and every Democrat,” Beshear answered when asked whether he thought his fellow Democrats should take money from AIPAC.
“In the end, I think people need to be clear about their stance on these issues,” Beshear said. “And for me, it’s one where I believe that we need a future with an ally in Israel. But we need decision makers there that are not acting the way that Netanyahu is, and we need a president that will push when we are seeing humanitarian crises to actually do something about it.”
A massive addition to the transfer portal just happened as former Liberty guard Brett Decker Jr. announced that he plans to hit the portal when it opens on April 7th. This should immediately catch the eye of Mark Pope, as Decker Jr. is a Kentucky native from Elizabethtown.
This season for the Flames of Liberty, Decker Jr. averaged 16.9 points per game while shooting 49.9% from the field and 47.1% from three. Decker Jr. will more than likely end up being the best three-point shooter in the transfer portal, so knowing this, plus the fact that he is a Kentucky native, Coach Pope needs to do everything in his power to land Decker Jr.
Last season, the Wildcats didn’t have that much three-point shooting outside of Collin Chandler. Otega Oweh, Denzel Aberdeen, and Kam Williams all were solid shooting the three ball, but Chandler was the only player fans could rely on to make one from deep.
When Pope doesn’t have a lot of players who are capable of making threes, his offense isn’t going to be that good, and this is why the Wildcats had a rough season last year. Coach Pope needs to learn from this mistake and make sure that he adds a bunch of players via the portal who can fill it up from deep. Obviously, Decker Jr. is a player who makes a ton of sense for this staff to target to come in and play the Koby Brea role.
If Decker Jr. does pick Kentucky, he could come off the bench as a flamethrower from deep, and in the games where he just can’t seem to miss, Pope won’t take him off the floor. When it comes to the other backcourt members Pope recruits, he will need guys who can score all over the floor, while Decker Jr. could just be the shooter for this team.
Decker Jr. is only a sophomore, so if Kentucky were to land him, he could develop the rest of his game and be one of the better players in the nation during his final two seasons of college hoops. Pope needs players who are going to be knockdown shooters from deep, and a good start would be to land the best shooter in the portal.
If Kentucky is able to land Decker Jr., Pope will still need to go out and get some more players who can be reliable from three, but he would be an excellent start. Coach Pope needs to do everything in his power to bring the Kentucky kid home.
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