First Scouting Report: At Vanderbilt, UK will try to give Ray Davis a happy homecoming
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Game day: Kentucky 35, Akron 3
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s Kentucky-Akron football game at Kroger Field in Lexington.
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An early look ahead to the Kentucky Wildcats’ next football game:
The opponent
Kentucky (3-0) will travel to Nashville to face SEC East rival Vanderbilt (2-2) in the league opener for both teams.
The game will kick off at noon (EDT) on Saturday, Sept. 23, and be telecast on the SEC Network.
Coach Clark Lea’s Commodores lost at UNLV 40-37 on Saturday night.
In Las Vegas, Vanderbilt built a 17-0 lead, fell behind 30-17, caught up at 37-37 and then missed a potential go-ahead field goal with 48 seconds left. After the missed field goal, Vandy surrendered a 48-yard pass that set UNLV up to kick a 36-yard, game-winning field goal with five seconds left.
Series history
Kentucky leads the all-time series with Vanderbilt 48-43-4.
Vandy went 16-0-1 in the first 17 games played between the Commodores and Wildcats from 1896 through 1938. Since then, UK leads the series 48-27-3.
UK coach Mark Stoops is 7-3 against Vanderbilt.
Vandy coach Clark Lea is 1-1 against the Wildcats.
Most recent meeting
Mike Wright threw for 184 yards and a touchdown and ran for 126 yards and a score and Ray Davis ran for 129 yards and a TD as Vanderbilt snapped a 26-game losing streak against Southeastern Conference foes with a 24-21 upset of Kentucky on Nov. 12, 2022, at Kroger Field in Lexington.
Down 21-17 inside the final minute, Vandy faced fourth-and-9 from the Kentucky 49-yard line, but Wright completed a 40-yard pass to Quincy Skinner with 36 seconds left.
Three plays later, Wright threw eight yards to Will Sheppard for the game-winning TD.
Know your foe
1. The two biggest offensive stars for Vanderbilt in last season’s upset of Kentucky are now playing for different SEC teams.
Quarterback Mike Wright has yet to throw a pass for Mississippi State, but had rushed for 97 yards on seven carries through this season’s first three games.
Of course, running back Ray Davis now plays for Kentucky as a graduate transfer. Through three games, Davis is UK’s leading rusher, 236 yards with three touchdowns and a 7.2 yards a carry average, and second-leading receiver, nine catches for 143 yards and two TDs.
2. Will Sheppard, who caught the game-winning TD vs. UK last season, has emerged as Vanderbilt’s primary offensive threat in 2023. Through four games, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound senior had caught 25 passes for 314 yards and six touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Quincy Skinner, whose 40-yard reception with 36 seconds left in the game set up Vandy’s game-winning score, has three catches for 59 yards and a TD. Skinner’s touchdown catch, a 34-yarder, tied the game at UNLV at 37 with 1:12 left.
3. Vanderbilt hybrid safety/linebacker CJ Taylor had been a disruptive force through the Commodores’ first four games. The 6-1, 201-pound product of McMinnville, Tennessee, has 30 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, three quarterback sacks, two pass breakups and a forced fumble.
This story was originally published September 16, 2023 at 10:41 PM.
