Tennessee Football: Top Head-to-Head Matchups vs. Kentucky

College football games are won and lost based on individual matchups, and there are several worth watching when the Tennessee Volunteers take on the Kentucky Wildcats Saturday evening.

As with most years, the Vols have a talent advantage heading into this game. But the Wildcats' newfound success on the recruiting trail under second-year head coach Mark Stoops makes the talent gap closer than it has been in recent years. 

No longer will Tennessee be able to simply outmuscle and outlast Kentucky and walk away with a win. Instead, the Vols will have to take advantage of matchups where they have an advantage and scheme around areas where the Wildcats have the upper hand.

Kentucky has the pieces on defense to limit Tennessee's emerging and highly potent offense. In addition, the Wildcats also have playmakers who can expose the same weaknesses that Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina took advantage of en route to scoring 30 or more points on the Vols.

Here are four matchups that could be the deciding factor to determine if the Wildcats walk out of Neyland Stadium with their first victory there since the Reagan administration or if the Vols inch one step closer to bowl eligibility. 

Za'Darius Smith and Bud Dupree vs. Jacob Gilliam and Kyler Kerbyson

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Za'Darius Smith and Alvin "Bud" Dupree are two of Kentucky's most disruptive defensive players, and they will face off against Tennessee's much-maligned offensive line Saturday evening.

Although the Vols offensive line looked improved against Alabama and South Carolina, it's still essentially the same unit that gave up five sacks to FCS opponent Chattanooga just a few weeks ago. 

Unlike Justin Worley, Josh Dobbs is shifty enough to escape pressure in the pocket, but if Smith and Dupree can beat Kyler Kerbyson and Jacob Gilliam on a regular basis, they can force Dobbs into making mistakes and shut down Tennessee's passing threat.

Smith and Dupree alone aren't elite defensive ends, but the combination of the two makes them particularly dangerous, especially when they match up with a converted offensive guard and a former walk-on offensive tackle whose career seemed to be over when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament against Utah State more than two months ago. 

Stanley 'Boom' Williams vs. Tennessee's Defensive Line

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Although Kentucky doesn't have a true standout running back yet, Stanley "Boom" Williams is the team's most potent rusher. 

With 361 yards on the ground and an average of 6.9 yards per carry, Williams is slowly putting himself in position to be the Wildcats' clear leader at tailback for the rest of the season and heading into 2015.

Containing Williams—along with Braylon Heard and Jojo Kemp, both of whom have at least 300 yards rushing as well—will be a challenge for Tennessee's defensive line, but nothing it hasn't already faced this season.

The Vols have squared off against Georgia's Todd Gurley and Nick Chubb, Alabama's T.J. Yeldon and Derrick Henry and South Carolina's Mike Davis and Brandon Wilds.

Williams and Co. aren't quite on the same level as those running backs, but Tennessee can't exactly take them lightly, either. The Vols rank 77th in the country in total rushing defense, allowing 172 yards on the ground per game, according to NCAA.com statistics. 

If Tennessee doesn't contain Williams and quarterback Patrick Towles, who is a legitimate rushing threat himself, it could be a long day for the Vols defense. 

Demarco Robinson vs. Cam Sutton

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Although wide receiver Ryan Timmons has more yardage and touchdowns than anyone else on the Wildcats roster, his recent lackluster play pushed him down on the depth chart for the Tennessee game, making Demarco Robinson Kentucky's top receiver heading into the matchup.

At 5'10" and 158 pounds, Robinson is quick and agile like Tennessee's Pig Howard. His 30 catches for 438 yards and one touchdown may not strike fear into the heart of Vols defensive coordinator John Jancek, but shutting him down will be a great test for his most likely defender in Cam Sutton.

Sutton has performed like a true lockdown corner since his first practices as a freshman at Tennessee, but he, along with the entire Vols secondary, gave up huge yards to both Amari Cooper and Pharoh Cooper in back-to-back weeks. 

With a week of rest between those disappointing performances, look for Sutton to bounce back in a big way and limit Robinson's catches Saturday. 

Joshua Dobbs vs. Josh Forrest

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Sophomore quarterback Joshua Dobbs is Tennessee's most potent weapon against a Kentucky defense that is highly vulnerable to the run.

Dobbs gashed South Carolina for 166 yards and three touchdowns two weeks ago, and Tennessee's offensive game plan will certainly involve a dozen or so designed quarterback runs to pick up first downs and touchdowns when the Vols enter the red zone.

Kentucky will have to rely on middle linebacker Josh Forrest to spy Dobbs throughout the game and prevent him from breaking off long runs when the pocket collapses. 

Forrest has 82 tackles on the season, along with eight tackles for loss, one sack and two interceptions. He's similar to Tennessee's A.J. Johnson in that he's capable of making plays all over the field, but it won't matter if he can't stop Dobbs from running it up the middle on crucial third downs.