Texas is heavy favorite at home vs. Kentucky; Wildcats are healthier on D and hungry

AUSTIN (KXAN) — No. 3 Texas comes into Saturday's game against Kentucky as 20-point favorites at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium, but the Wildcats are getting healthier on the defensive side and could give the Longhorns issues.

This is the third time this season Kentucky has faced a top 10 team on the road and they beat Mississippi earlier in the season 20-17 in Oxford. The Wildcats are tied with Ole Miss for the best red zone defense in the Southeastern Conference, stopping teams from scoring 31% of the time.

A big piece of the defensive line, quite literally, returns for the Wildcats this week. Deone Walker, all 345 pounds of him, will be back in the trenches, and linebacker JJ Weaver will also return to the field. He's two sacks away from moving to No. 3 on the all-time sacks list for Kentucky.

Kentucky beat Murray State 48-6 in nonconference play last week with freshman running back Jamarion Wilcox rushing for 123 yards. This is the second time the schools have played and the first time since 1951. Texas won that game 7-6 in Austin.

For Texas, head coach Steve Sarkisian said wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. would be a "game-day decision." He was listed as questionable on Friday's SEC injury report but was removed in the game-day update. Linebacker Mo Blackwell and edge rusher Colton Vasek were listed as probable Friday and should be available.

The game is set to kick at 2:30 p.m. and air on ABC.