Three takeaways from Kentucky football’s emotional victory over Vanderbilt
In addition to my column, three takeaways from Kentucky football’s 38-35 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores:
1. Kentucky channels its emotions into a victory
After Thursday’s death of beloved offensive line coach John Schlarman, the emotions of this Kentucky football team could have followed one of two paths. No one could have blamed the Wildcats if they arrived with their heads down for the SEC matchup with the Commodores. Instead, they responded the right way, the way Schlarman himself wanted them to respond, with passion.
That especially showed on offense where the previously struggling unit averaged 8.3 yards on just 55 plays, producing 458 total yards. Back from his wrist injury, quarterback Terry Wilson completed 13 of 15 passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 83 yards and another score. Wearing Chris Oats’ No. 22, Chris Rodriguez rushed for a career-high 149 yards, including a 74-yard touchdown run.
After missing some of the week, offensive coordinator Eddie Gran was on the sidelines and the work Gran and the staff had done over the bye week with the passing game paid off. UK averaged 9.4 yards per completion. Ten different receivers caught balls. Tight ends Justin Rigg and Keaton Upshaw each had a touchdown catch.
“We knew who we were playing for,” said Wilson after the game. “We were playing for Coach Schlarman and Chris Oats.”
2. Mark Stoops wasn’t happy with his defense
Though happy about the victory and the way his offense play, head coach Mark Stoops was none too pleased with his defense. Repeatedly during the postgame press conference, Stoops’ lamented that the failures on defense kept the offense from receiving more opportunities with the football.
Give Vanderbilt credit. The Commodores rolled up over 400 yards in last week’s 24-17 loss at Mississippi State. They gained 407 on Saturday, showing the ‘Dores are starting to feel comfortable in new coordinator Todd Fitch’s offense. True freshman quarterback Ken Seals showed promise. And before leaving with an injury, sophomore running back Keyon Henry-Brooks rushed for a career-high 121 yards on 29 carries.
Still, Stoops was not happy with the fact Vanderbilt converted 11 of 17 third-down situations. Twice when the Commodores failed on third down, they scored on fourth-and-goal opportunities. Overall, Vanderbilt averaged 5.1 yards per play. And the team that committed 14 turnovers in its first five games, did not commit one turnover against the Cats.
Said Stoops, “We made very few competitive plays.”
3. Kentucky is now 3-4 before two brutal road trips
The SEC announced Friday that it could alter existing schedules in an effort to complete this pandemic of a 2020 season. As it stands now, however, the Cats are set to play at Alabama on Nov. 21, then Florida on Nov. 28. That is if COVID-19 allows those games to take place.
The win over Vanderbilt improved the Cats to 3-4. They are scheduled to finish Dec. 5 at home against South Carolina, but no one knows for sure how this will play out. And we’ve seen the first public effects of COVID-19 on the UK program. Gran missed his usual Tuesday Zoom meeting with the media for unexplained reasons. And punter Max Duffy and placekicker Matt Ruffolo were unavailable on Saturday.
“I think you can read between the lines,” said Stoops when asked for an official reason for their absence.
If Kentucky does play No. 1-ranked Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Saturday, it will be the Cats’ first game against the Crimson Tide since a 34-6 loss at Bryant-Denny Stadium in 2016. Nick Saban’s 2013 team beat UK 48-7 in Lexington in 2013, Stoops’ first season.
The fans might fear the back-to-back Alabama/Florida trips, but are the players excited about the opportunity?
“We don’t ever pay attention to the outside noise,” said linebacker Jamin Davis on Saturday. “We’re just going to do what we have to do to prepare to play.”
This story was originally published November 14, 2020 at 6:47 PM.
