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The ‘Cats won their 6th consecutive game Saturday night, defeating the Vanderbilt Commodores by a score of 34-17 at Kroger Field. The ‘Cats enter their much needed bye week with a sparkling 7-1 record and atop the SEC with a 5-1 conference record. Yes, you read that correctly. The Kentucky Wildcats football team is ranked 12th in the country (soon to be top 10) and are leading the SEC standings right now. The program turn around led by first year head coach Will Stein is amazing. The program has excitement, talent and is gaining momentum with national recognition weekly. In the new age of college sports and college football, it is clear that history can only take you so far. Stein and his ‘Cats believe that they belong, and continue to prove it to the rest of the college football world each week. This week, the ‘Cats got off to one of their worst starts of the season. They were outgained 95-14 in total yards in the first quarter and only had the ball for 3 first quarter minutes. However, Minchey and the ‘Cats would go on to outscore the Commodores 34-7 for the remainder of the game after a quick 10-0 deficits early in the 2nd quarter. This team brings fire on both sides of the ball with the star power of TE Willie Rodriguez, WR Kenny Darby and Safety Ty Bryant and DL Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace (among others). Kentucky will head to Neyland Stadium in Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers in two weeks for one of the biggest games in program history in the past 50 years. The ‘Cats have a path to the College Football Playoffs, and they control their own destiny. Get some rest BBN, and enjoy this journey. Go ‘Cats!
The spread for Saturday’s matchup against Vanderbilt was –10 (Kentucky). The Over/Under points total was set at 51.5.
Game Recap:
First Quarter
Kentucky won the coin toss and deferred their possession to the second half. The ‘Cats kicked it off into the end zone to begin the game. Vanderbilt began their first drive on their own 25-yard line. The ‘Cats got into the back field on the first play of the game and forced a throw away from Freshman QB Curtis. Curtis found Sherrill for a 15-yard gain on a 2nd down play. Kentucky’s defense forced a 3rd-and-short at the Vanderbilt 47-yard line. The Commodores took an end-around to the outside for a first-down gain. Barnes played a screen well and tackled the ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage. Curtis then found Spence for a chunk gain of 9-yards to the Kentucky 40-yard line. Curtis took a QB run for a short gain and a first down. The ‘Cats defense stood firm to force a 3rd-and-9 from the Kentucky 35-yard line with 10-minutes to play in the first quarter. The ‘Cats pass rush got home and Gates and Works took down Curtis for a sack. The Commodores were forced to punt on their opening drive. The ‘Cats began their first drive on their own 15-yard line. The ‘Cats first offensive play saw Baxter take a short carry for a gain of 3-yards. Minchey was sacked on the second play for a loss of yards. Minchey scrambled on third down and gained 12-yards but the ‘Cats were forced to punt. Vanderbilt returned the punt for a huge 45-yard gain all the way back to the Kentucky 20-yard line to begin their second drive of the game. The Kentucky defense again held strong, this time to force a 30-yard field goal attempt by Taylor. Taylor made the field goal to give Vanderbilt the first points of the game and a 3-0 lead with 3:57-minutes to play in the first quarter. Kentucky began their second drive of the game on their own 40-yard line after a personal foul penalty on Vanderbilt. Minchey could not connect on a deep throw to DJ Miller on their first-down play. Minchey went back to Miller on the next play for a gain of 6-yards. The next pass was batted down, again intended for Miller on a 3rd-down play. Berry punted the ball all the way to the Vanderbilt 5-yard line and the Commodores took over with 3-minutes left in the first quarter. Curtis found Sherrill for a good gain on first-down. The ‘Cats defense forced another 3rd-and-long on the next drive. Curtis found the TE Connor for a big gain of 17-yards to carry the ball into Kentucky territory. At the end of the first quarter Vanderbilt led Kentucky by a score of 3-0. The Commodores dominated the first quarter of play, out-gaining the ‘Cats 95-14 in total yards, while possessing the ball for 12 of 15 minutes.
Second Quarter
Vanderbilt’s offense continued their drive to begin the second quarter of action in front of the blue Kroger Field crowd. Curtis continued to surgically lead the Commodores down the field but Kentucky’s defense again forced a tackle for loss on an end-around play. Vanderbilt and Curtis played a blitz perfectly and connected for a first-down gain on a 3rd-down play. Curtis found a wide-open receiver for a gain of 12-yards on a 3rd-and-3 play to the Kentucky 17-yard line. Curtis ran up the middle on a QB draw to the Kentucky 4-yard line. The ‘Cats defense forced a 3rd-and-goal at the 3-yard line on the next set of plays. Curtis found Conner for a 3-yard touchdown to make the score 10-0 Vanderbilt after the PAT, capping a 9-minute, 95-yard touchdown drive. Kentucky got the ball on their own 25-yard line with 9-minutes to play in the first half. Skinner took a pitch play run on first-down for a gain of 16-yards for the ‘Cats. Minchey found Baxter for a short catch on the next play. Baxter was injured on the tackle. Patterson took the next carry for a first-down gain of 7-yards. Minchey found TE Rodriguez for a huge 21-yard gain with a roughing the passer penalty to push the ball to the Vanderbilt 13-yard line. Skinner took an end-around carry for a gain of 7-yards. Patterson took a carry for a gain of 2-yards. A false start penalty cost the ‘Cats 5-yards on 3rd-down. Minchey connected with DJ Miller for a 9-yard TOUCHDOWN KENTUCKY! Zouagui added the PAT to make the score 10-7 Vanderbilt with 5:04-minutes to play in the first half. Vanderbilt began their next drive on their own 25-yard line. Vanderbilt threw consecutive screen passes to gain 6-yards and make it 3rd-and-4. Sykes broke up the 3rd-down pass attempt to force a punt. Kentucky began their next drive on their own 21-yard line with 4-minutes to play in the half. Minchey connected with Miller on a 3rd-and-10 play for a gain of 12-yards. Barnes took the next carry for a gain of 12-yards. Rodriguez took a screen pass for a short gain to force a 3rd-and-4 at the Vanderbilt 49-yard line. Minchey found DJ Miller once again, this time on his heels for a first-down gain. Darby collected his first reception of the game for a short 4-yard gain. Minchey kept the ball on the sideline for an 8-yard gain to Ferguson. Minchey found a wide-open Rodriguez up the middle for a gain of 18-yards. Minchey kept the ball for a scramble and a gain of 7-yards to the Vanderbilt 2-yard line with 29-seconds to play in the first half. Skinner took an end-around for a gain of 1-yard. Rodriguez took the direct snap and rushed around the edge for a walk-in 1-yard TOUCHDOWN KENTUCKY! Kentucky led 14-10 after the PAT with 21-seconds remaining in the first half. Kentucky scored 14 unanswered points to end the first half. The ‘Cats outgained the Commodores 160-147 in total yards in the half. Minchey connected on 10 of 13 pass attempts for 98 yards and 1 touchdown. The ‘Cats will get the ball to begin the second half.
Halftime: Kentucky 14 – Vanderbilt 10
Third Quarter
Kentucky began the second half with the ball on their own 25-yard line after a touchback on the opening kickoff. Barnes took the first carry of the second half for a short 4-yard gain. Minchey found Rodriguez for a first-down gain as the tight end fought through Vanderbilt defenders to gain yardage. Barnes took another carry for a solid gain of 6-yards. Minchey found an open Darby in stride for a big gain of 44-yards to the Vanderbilt 13-yard line. Barnes ran for a touchdown that was called back due to holding. Barnes ran for another 6-yard gain. Backup QB Brennen Ward ran a QB draw through the defense for a walk-in 10-yard TOUCHDOWN KENTUCKY. The ‘Cats led 21-10 after the PAT with 10:35-minutes to play in the third quarter. It was another creative play design by Stein and Sloan. The ‘Cats kicked off into the end zone for a touchback and Vanderbilt began their first offensive drive of the second half at their own 25-yard line. Curtis found Brown for a first-down gain. The ‘Cats were called for a pass-interference to give Vanderbilt a first-down and Nichols stopped a screen pass for a loss on the next play. Bryant then broke up a pass to force 3rd-and-12. Curtis found Sherrill for a first-down gain. Harkless rushed up the middle and took down Curtis for a sack and a loss of 6-yards to force a 3rd-and-15 from the Kentucky 46-yard line. Curtis again found Sherrill for a 12-yard gain to force a 4th-and-3 for the Commodores. Curtis found Thomas in stride for a 34-yard touchdown score. Kentucky led 21-17 after the PAT with 5:45-minutes left in the third quarter. The ‘Cats began their next drive on their own 25-yard line. Minchey found Rodriguez on first-down for a first-down gain. Patterson took a 5-yard carry then Minchey connected with Darby for a 20-yard gain. Minchey found Rodriguez for a short gain then Patterson took consecutive carries for a first-down. The ‘Cats offense stalled after the first-down and Zouagui nailed a 47-yard field goal to make the score 24-17 Kentucky with 1:24-minutes to play in the third quarter. Curtis and the Commodores began their next drive on their own 25-yard line. Kentucky sacked Curtis. Humphrey-Grace forced the fumble and Gadson recovered the ball on the Vanderbilt 17-yard line. Barnes took a short carry to end the third quarter and Kentucky with a 24-17 lead.
Fourth Quarter
Barnes took a carry for no gain on the first play of the fourth quarter. Minchey could not connect with DJ Miller, who was pushed out of bounds with no pass interference call. Zouagui made a 32-yard field goal to make it 27-17 with 14:10-minutes to play in the game. Vanderbilt began their next drive on their own 25-yard line. Curtis tried to connect with Thomas on a deep throw but it fell incomplete. Curtis found Sherrill for a 16-yard gain. Bryant picked off Curtis and returned it to the Vanderbilt 47-yard line. Minchey connected with Darby for a short screen play. Patterson took a short 3rd-down carry for a first down gain. Minchey was nearly picked off but the Vanderbilt defender dropped the ball intended for Darby. Patterson took a carry for a 7-yard gain. The ‘Cats went for it on 4th-and-1 and got it with a hand off to Patterson for a 4-yard gain. Minchey found Skinner and Miller to get to a 3rd-and-1. Patterson carried it 9-yards to the 3-yard line. The Commodores were called for a pass interference on the next play to push the ball to the 2-yard line and a first-down. Barnes carried it to the 1-yard line. Minchey jumped over the pile for a TOUCHDOWN KENTUCKY! The ‘Cats led by a score of 34-17 after the PAT with 5:11-minutes left in the game. The Commodores began their next drive on their own 10-yard line following a targeting call on the kickoff. A false start pushed back the Commodores to their own 5-yard line. The Kentucky defense held strong and forced a punt on their own 16-yard line with 4:30-minutes to play in the game. Barnes took a carry for a gain of 8-yards. Barnes took two more carries for a gain of 6-yards to push the game to the 2-minute timeout. Minchey took an RPO himself for a 10-yard gain and a first-down. Barnes took another set of carries for a first-down gain to end the game. The ‘Cats went on to win the game 34-17. They will head into their bye week next week as a likely top 10 team in the country!
Final: Kentucky 34 – Vanderbilt 17
Game Stats:
Total Yards:
Kentucky – 376 (203 Passing, 173 Rushing)
Vanderbilt – 262 (247 Passing, 15 Rushing)
Turnover Differential:
Kentucky 0 – Vanderbilt 2
Time of Possession:
Kentucky – 31:03 minutes
Vanderbilt – 28:57 minutes
Notable Player Stats:
Offense:
QB Kenny Minchey – [(19 comp – 26 att) (203 yds) (1 passing TD) (0 INT) (5 car) (23 rush yds) (1 rush TD)]
RB Javonte Barnes – [(15 car) (68 rush yds)]
TE Willie Rodriguez – [(6 rec) (67 yds)]
WR Kenny Darby – [(4 rec) (71 yds)]
WR DJ Miller – [(5 rec) (43 yds) (1 TD)]
Defense:
Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace – [(5 totTk) (5 solo) (1 sack) (2 TFL) (1 FF)]
Ty Bryant – [(6 totTk) (5 solo) (1 INT) (1 pass break up]
Jordan Castell – [(8 totTk) (5 solo) (1 TFL)]
Aaron Gates – [(3 totTk) (2 solo) (0.5 sacks) (0.5 TFL) (1 pass break up) (1 QB hurry)]
Upcoming Game:
The ‘Cats (7-1, 5-1 SEC) will head into the BYE week next week before heading to Knoxville and Neyland Stadium to take on the Tennessee Volunteers (6-2, 3-2 SEC) on Saturday, November 7. Kick-off is TBA at this time. The game will be televised on ESPN or ABC.
