Tennessee Unveils All-Black Look for Nov. 7 Home Game Against Kentucky

Tennessee announced on Friday morning that it will wear its all-black Dark Mode alternate uniform when Kentucky visits Neyland Stadium next week. The combination is built around black helmets, black jerseys and black pants, with orange providing the contrast through the helmet stripe, the Power T, the jersey numbers and the striping on the pants.

The setting should suit a featured night game. No. 16 Tennessee, 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the SEC, hosts No. 9 Kentucky, 7-1 and 5-1 in league play, on Nov. 7 with a 6:15 p.m. Eastern kickoff on ESPN. Both teams are off this week, so the uniform news arrives during the bye before a ranked matchup in Knoxville.

Dark Mode has mostly been kind to the Vols in recent seasons. Tennessee beat Kentucky 28-18 in the look in 2024, defeated South Carolina 41-20 in 2023 and routed Kentucky 44-6 in 2022, a run of three straight wins before a 33-27 loss to Oklahoma on Nov. 1 last season ended the streak.

The choice also adds another distinct entry to a season that has already included the classic home uniform for three games, the Smokey Grey Neyland Legacy set worn against Auburn on Oct. 3, and all-white uniforms on the road. In the program's first season with Adidas after an 11-year run with Nike, Tennessee will mark the Kentucky game with its darkest presentation of the year.