Josh Heupel talks about Tennessee football improving day by day. How about week to week and month to month – proper rewards for all those comprehensive practices and be-smart sessions?

September was fun ‘n games. We now know there was nothing to it. October was two out of three, a surprising setback, valued victories over top rivals and a walk-around celebration on Shields-Watkins Field. It wasn’t an official storm. Maybe it was more exciting than one more stanza of Rocky Top. Tearing up the turf was dumb.

November offers the opportunity for greatness. Improvement will be tested – and graded.

On guard, you Volunteers. Be alert. Florida is far behind us. Alabama is in the trophy case. The second soft week is over. Coming next is a psychological mismatch.

Saturday is the “fix-it bowl’ for Kentucky. An upset victory over Tennessee in sold-out Neyland Stadium would repair some of the damage the Wildcats have done in their disappointing season.

Indeed, the evening event will be as close as they will come to a genuine bowl game. They’ve lost three in a row. Their record is 1-5 against Southeastern Conference foes. In the recent meeting of the miserables, Auburn won at Kentucky, 24-10.

Highlights of this Kentucky season were the 13-12 loss to Georgia and the then amazing 20-17 triumph at Ole Miss. The four-touchdown defeat at Florida leads the lowlights.

Tennessee fans will scoff at a mere mention of a possible shocker. Kentucky almost never beats Tennessee – three times in the past 38 years. UK did win once with a wide receiver playing quarterback. It did trash Jeremy Pruitt’s 2020 team, a valid reason to fire that coach before the cheating cloud took shape.

Mark Stoops (UK Athletics)

Kentucky is a strange operation. Almost every August there is optimism. Almost every year ends in a letdown. Three seasons ago was very good – 10 wins. The NCAA erased that record and imposed fines and other penalties because of ineligible players (pocket change compared to today’s pay).

This is coach Mark Stoops’ 12th campaign. He is a legend without trophies. He is the “winningest coach in Kentucky football history” with more victories than Bear Bryant had. Alas, Stoops’ SEC record is 28-60.

He has a good job, high pay despite mediocre results, $9,013,600, ninth in the country. He still has several staunch supporters. He won the argument with coach John Calipari, who made the mistake of telling the truth, that Kentucky is a basketball school.

Cheers for Tennessee, a football-basketball-baseball school, really good all-around athletic program, used-to-be-good in track and field.

Kentucky has football talent, including a transfer quarterback with a connection to Knoxville. Brock Vandagriff’s dad is from Halls. Brock said relatives still live in the area. He visited the Vols as a prospective recruit. He signed with Georgia but didn’t do much for the Bulldogs. He has been no better than OK for the Wildcats – 1,236 yards passing, six touchdowns, five interceptions.

Wide receiver Dane Key has caught almost half of Vandagriff’s production.

UK does not have an exceptional running attack. It is gritty on defense but has trouble against the run. Auburn’s Jarquez Hunter had a career high 278 yards on 23 carries against the Wildcats on Saturday evening.

Believe me, Tennessee has a strong running attack named Dylan Sampson. Fans are waiting to see how much Nico Iamaleava has improved since the second half of the Alabama game. He appeared better throwing on the run than counting the seconds until pockets collapsed.

Run, Nico, run might be the best route to better things. Concern about injury is logical but for this offense to approach maximum efficiency, the quarterback must be a running threat. It appears he is willing and certainly capable.

Eyes will be on the slot receiver position. Squirrel White is trying to play despite a shoulder injury. Somebody else is undoubtedly better than half a Squirrel. Mike Matthews might adjust to playing inside out. Chas Nimrod might catch the football if given another chance. Tight end Ethan Davis might line up in the slot and create a mismatch.

I’m no help on how to improve the performance of the offensive line. I’ll leave that to line coach Glen Elarbee but it would be a good time to do something. Tackle Lance Heard has caught heavy criticism because the veteran line has not played up to expectations. Sampson’s numbers say it certainly hasn’t been awful but it hasn’t been good enough.

Inconsistent pass protection was only part of Nico’s problems.

Don’t laugh but there is room for defensive improvement.

Heupel used the word “elite” to describe the defense against Alabama. I thought it was good but not exactly flawless. Famous quarterback Jalen Milroe didn’t have a good game. The Vol defense was one big reason. He was contained. Interceptions were pivotal. The crowd made a wonderful difference. It may have messed up Milroe’s mind.

This defense hits. It has been aggressive. It has tackled. James Pearce has overcome a slow start. In most games, Tennessee has won the line of scrimmage. The loss of linebacker Keenan Pili remains relevant. Jermod McCoy is a real, live cornerback.

Just think, McCoy made it from Whitehouse (one word), Texas, to Oregon State to the Tennessee secondary, where he belongs.

Before you ask, Whitehouse (near Tyler) was so named by railroad engineers in the 1800s who paused near a white house for refreshments before moving on to bigger and better things.

McCoy had 57 catches as a high school receiver, was a star in baseball and won 5A state titles in long and triple jumps.

Jermod is a sophomore. Assuming he improves with experience, Vol fans may learn to like him.

Lockdown corners are hard to find.

Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com