Kentucky runs past Vanderbilt in Nashville

In front of a blue tinted crowd in Nashville, the Kentucky Wildcats took on the Vanderbilt Commodores in a game that really didn’t have any implications in the grand scheme of things. The only real pitfall was that a Wildcat loss would make their march to a bowl that much more difficult.

The ‘Dores came out of the gate fast. After holding Kentucky to a field goal on their opening drive, they marched down the field for a 75 yard touchdown drive that included a 17 yard catch by QB Riley Neal.

On the ensuing UK drive, Andre Mintze forced an A.J. Rose fumble and Allan George scooped the ball up and returned it 67 yards for the Vandy touchdown. 14-3 ‘Dores with 4:36 left in the 1st quarter. At this point, it looked like we would have a game on our hands.

We did not have a game on our hands. During the remainder of the contest, Kentucky scored 35 unanswered points to win 38-14. UK completely dominated on the ground even when Vanderbilt knew what was coming. The Cats had two 100 yard rushers in Chris Rodriguez (129) and Lynn Bowden (110) and almost had a third with Kavosiey Smoke tallying 95. A.J. Rose shuffled out 67 yards as well on just four carries.

In total, UK out gained Vandy 528 to 198. The Kentucky defense deserves a shout out too after they continued their incredibly impressive season, especially against the pass. We’ve seen wider score margins for sure, but this was a textbook drubbing. If not for a flurry of Kentucky offensive penalties in the second half, it could have been even worse.

Next week, the Wildcats will look to secure bowl eligibility for the fourth consecutive season at home against UT-Martin. Vanderbilt will host East Tennessee State in their next game, but will certainly be looking forward to their final game where they have the potential to defeat the Tennessee Volunteers for the fourth year in a row.