Three takeaways from Kentucky football’s win over Vanderbilt
Three takeaways from Kentucky football’s 34-17 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday night in Nashville:
1. When you’re on a three-game losing streak, a win is a win
For all the online griping in the second half, Mark Stoops’ Cats improved to 7-3 overall and 5-3 in the SEC. They snapped a three-game losing streak. They won their sixth straight game over Vanderbilt. They clinched their second winning conference season in the past four years, and their second since 1977.
They did so with a terrific first half. The Will Levis-led offense scored touchdowns on its first three possessions and a field goal on its fourth. Levis was 10 of 14 for 156 yards and two touchdowns in the first 30 minutes. His lone interception came on a Hail Mary at the end of the half. Chris Rodriguez ran for 90 yards on 10 first-half carries. Wan’Dale Robinson caught five balls for 76 yards and a score.
Defensively, Kentucky continually forced Vanderbilt into third-and-long situations. Of the Commodores’ eight third-down chances, four were down-and-distance of third-and-12 or more. Vandy failed to convert on all four. Little wonder, UK held a 278-105 total yards edge at intermission.
Plus, Kentucky’s defense came up with a score of its own. Safety Jalen Geiger, making his first start, picked off an errant Ken Seals pass and returned it 31 yards for a touchdown for a 21-3 UK lead. It was the middle score in a stretch in which the Cats scored three touchdowns in four minutes. It was just UK’s fourth interception of the season, but its second pick-six. Tyrell Ajian returned an interception 95 yards for a score way back in the 28-23 win over Chattanooga.
Said Geiger, “I never had a pick-six that easy in my life.”
2. Kentucky throttled it down in the second half
Vanderbilt outscored the Cats 14-3 over the final 30 minutes. Clark Lea, the Commodores’ new coach, made a quarterback switch at the half, benching Seals in favor of Mike Wright. And the sophomore engineered back-to-back touchdown drives, a 12-play, 72-yard drive followed by an 11-play, 75-yard march. Both times, Vanderbilt scored on fourth-and-goal situations from the UK 8-yard line.
“You’ve got to give credit to (Wright),” UK defensive lineman Josh Paschal said. “They switched up quarterbacks and he was ready to play. He was just a playmaker making plays.”
Meanwhile, Kentucky’s offense managed just 135 total yards in the second half. Levis hit on just three of his eight throws over the final two quarters. Rodriguez carried it six times for 24 yards. Robinson was held to one catch for a 1-yard loss.
“I think we could have been more attack mode in the second half if we had played better defensively,” Stoops said.
The bright spot of the second half on the UK offense was running back Jutahn McClain. The sophomore carried the ball 10 times for 69 yards. Given the way McClain can catch the ball and run routes out of the backfield, he is a good fit for Liam Coen’s offense moving forward.
“I thought he was really, really good out there tonight,” Stoops said. “You’ve heard us talk about him for a year or so. It’s just a matter of getting him some opportunities. The way he played today, he earned the opportunities.”
3. UK has an easy one and a tricky one to go
New Mexico State comes to Kroger Field for UK’s Senior Day next Saturday. The Cats should have little trouble handling the Aggies, who lost 59-3 at Alabama on Saturday. Doug Martin’s club is just 1-9 on the season. New Mexico State’s one win came over FCS team South Carolina State.
After that, Stoops’ club travels to Louisville to finish the regular season against the archrival Cardinals. Scott Satterfield’s team improved to 5-5 with an easy 41-3 victory over visiting Syracuse on Lamar Jackson Day on Saturday. U of L is 3-4 in the ACC heading into a Thursday night matchup with Duke.
Led by quarterback Malik Cunningham, the Cards could easily be 7-3 right now. They lost by three points (37-34) at Wake Forest and by one point (34-33) at home to Virginia. They were stopped on a fourth-and-goal at the Clemson 2-yard line in the closing seconds of a 30-24 loss to the Tigers at Cardinal Stadium last week.
Kentucky can’t take the Cards lightly. The Cats are likely to be the favorites for the Nov. 27 matchup, but it’s a dangerous game. Having lost the last two meetings by a combined score of 101-23, Louisville would love nothing more than to turn the tide.
This story was originally published November 13, 2021 at 11:16 PM.
