Tennessee defensive tackle Walter Fisher doesn't remember the last time the Vols lost to Kentucky.

Of course he doesn't. He was three days old.

Think about it. A generation of college football players have been born, developed into prospects, taken official visits, been assigned one to five stars by recruiting services, landed on depth charts, taken 'em one game at a time, and been scrutinized to death on talk radio and message boards since the last time Tennessee tasted defeat at the hands of Kentucky.

That would have been on Nov. 24, 1984.

Antonio Gaines, UT's injured cornerback, was born the next day.

Only seven members of Tennessee's squad were alive when Kentucky knocked off the Vols 17-12 in Neyland Stadium in 1984, and they were crawling around in diapers.

Since then, Tennessee has annually chalked up a win in this border war, come hell or high water, for 22 years.

When Navy beat Notre Dame on Nov. 3, ending 43 years of futility, Tennessee took ownership of the longest domination over a rival in college football.

"Every season stands on its own,'' UT head coach Phillip Fulmer said Sunday night. "It's always different circumstances, different players.

"We just try to play the games as they happen.''

The next one happens Saturday. The incentive for the Vols to extend the streak to 23 is considerable - an Eastern Division title and a trip to the SEC championship game in Atlanta on Dec. 1.

Kentucky's incentive, though, should be even stronger.

Tennessee fans, pause and reflect on how excruciating that 11-year losing streak to Alabama (1971-81) was. Now double it.

Four Kentucky coaches have never experienced victory against UT: Bill Curry, Hal Mumme, Guy Morriss, and the current one, Rich Brooks.

Since Kentucky's last victory over UT, the Vols are 210-67-6. The Cats are 105-154-1.

Since Kentucky's last victory, the Vols have fielded 23 first-team All-Americans, the Cats five.

Since Kentucky's last victory, 93 Vols have been named first-team All-SEC to 32 Wildcats.

The cumulative score of Tennessee's 22 consecutive victories is 763-340. Four times, Kentucky didn't score.

Tennessee's heyday was 1993-2000 when the average margin of victory over Kentucky was 36.1 points. Only one of those games was closer than 28 points.

But the Vols haven't always been laughing at the final horn.

In 1987, UT had to stop All-SEC back Mark Higgs on four tries inside the 5 to hold on 24-22.

This scenario from 1995 sounds strangely familiar (like roughly 48 hours old). Kentucky led 24-9 in the third quarter. Peyton Manning rallied the Vols to a 34-31 lead. But to preserve it, Tennessee had to block a 48-yard field-goal attempt.

Truth is, the Wildcats have been knocking on the door for several years now.

Tennessee needed a 44-yard Alex Walls field goal to pull out a 38-35 squeaker in 2001. In 2004, the Wildcats led almost the entire game until Gerald Riggs scored with 38 seconds to play. The 31-29 win sent Tennessee to the SEC championship game.

Last year, Kentucky outplayed the Vols much of the game. Yet Tennessee rallied, then preserved a 17-12 win with a pair of fourth-quarter defensive stops.

The law of averages, it seems, is closing in on Tennessee's domination. More significantly, so is the talent comparison.

Kentucky can at least match UT at a number of positions. The Wildcats are the only team in the nation to beat No. 1 LSU.

In fact, Kentucky is opening as a slight favorite in the early betting lines.

"We know we have to go up there and play well to win the game,'' said Fulmer, "but I don't worry about laws of averages or anything like that.''

He shouldn't. Still, if Tennessee prevails on Saturday, No. 23 might be the hardest one of all.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strange2@knews.com.

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.