Tennessee is wearing its all-black “Dark Mode” uniforms against No. 6 Kentucky on Saturday night, and ESPN ranked the look No. 1 among this week’s uniforms. Correct call. Best alternate in the sport, and I’m not taking questions.
Now, the part everybody in Knoxville is actually going to talk about at the tailgate: the Vols have worn black against Kentucky twice, and Kentucky has not enjoyed either one.
Tennessee in Dark Mode under Josh Heupel
- 2021: Tennessee 45, South Carolina 20
- 2021: Georgia 41, Tennessee 17
- 2022: Tennessee 44, Kentucky 6
- 2023: Tennessee 41, South Carolina 20
- 2024: Tennessee 28, Kentucky 18
- 2025: Oklahoma 33, Tennessee 27
That’s 4-2 in black under Heupel, and 2-0 against the Wildcats by a combined 72-24. (Scores from ESPN; which games were Dark Mode games per Volquest’s history of the uniform.)
Do uniforms win games?
No. Last year’s Oklahoma game proved the jerseys don’t tackle anybody. But don’t tell me they don’t matter. Eighteen- to 22-year-olds love this stuff, recruits on campus love this stuff, and a night crowd in Neyland dressed for a funeral, staring at a 7-1 Kentucky team that’s been top 10 all week, is about as good as it gets in this sport.
Here’s my take: this is the right game for it. Kentucky is ranked No. 6 by the committee, seven spots ahead of us. Tennessee is 6-2. This isn’t a uniform for a homecoming cupcake. It’s a uniform for a statement.
No. 6 Kentucky at No. 13 Tennessee, Saturday at 5:15 p.m. Central on ESPN. Lights out.
Black jerseys or orange, you know where to find us: X and Instagram @fiveandafade.
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Jeremy Durham is a sports columnist for TriStar Daily and the founder of Five and a Fade.
