Kentucky Looking for Sixth Straight Win Over Vanderbilt
Kentucky travels to Music City, USA on Saturday in hopes of extending one streak and ending another when it takes on the Vanderbilt Commodores. Game time is 7 p.m. ET and it will air on ESPN2 and the UK Sports Network.
The Wildcats are seeking a sixth consecutive win against the Commodores and seventh in the past eight meetings as they look to continue their recent advantage in the series. A win also would end a three-game losing streak after opening the season with six straight wins.
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| Kentucky at Vanderbilt | ||
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| Sat., Nov. 13 – 7:00 p.m. ET Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, Tenn. Game Notes: UK | VU Digital Gameday Program Gameday App |
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TV: ESPN2 |
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| UK | Team Stats | VU |
| 6-3 | Record | 2-7 |
| 4-3 | Conference Record | 0-5 |
| 28.7 | Scoring/game | 14.9 |
| 393.6 | Total offense/game | 301.4 |
| 180.8 | Rushing yards/game | 117.6 |
| 212.8 | Passing yards/game | 183.9 |
| 16.9 | Kickoff returns (avg) | 15.1 |
| 12.5 | Punt returns (avg) | 6.8 |
| 46.1 | Punting (avg) | 42.5 |
| 30:32 | Time of possession/game | 29:16 |
| 51.9% | Third down conversion | 30.4% |
| 40.0% | Fourth down conversion | 60.0% |
| 23.4 | Points allowed/game | 35.6 |
| 352.3 | Total yards allowed/game | 463.1 |
| 119.2 | Rush yards allowed/game | 184.6 |
| 233.1 | Pass yards allowed/game | 278.6 |
Offensively, the Wildcats have been guided by quarterback Will Levis, who is completing 65.7 percent of his passes for 1,848 yards and 17 touchdowns. He accounted for 419 yards of total offense and five touchdowns in last week’s slugfest with Tennessee. Levis’ top target has been Wan’Dale Robinson, who is among the leading receivers in the Southeastern Conference with 71 catches for 825 yards and five TDs. The ground game has been paced by Christopher Rodriguez Jr., who has rushed for 918 yards and five scores, and he ranks second in the league in rushing with 102 yards per game.
The Kentucky defense has been exceptional at times in 2021, with linebackers DeAndre Square and Jacquez Jones leading the team in tackles, while safety Yusuf Corker and defensive end Josh Paschal are among the SEC leaders in pass breakups and tackles for loss, respectively.
Cat Scratches: Kentucky Offense Continuing to Make Great Strides
Kentucky’s offense played perhaps its best game of the year on Saturday night. The Cats scored six touchdowns, amassed 612 total yards and seemingly had their way against Tennessee.
But it was not enough.
Kentucky found itself on the wrong end of a 45-42 outcome in Saturday’s contest at Kroger Field. Still, offensive coordinator Liam Coen thought that the production and effort from his unit was much more of what he has been looking for from the Cats.
“It was much closer and that was the message to the guys yesterday. There were so many good things that we did in this game,” Coen said. “Playing with chemistry, all 11 playing together. Did some great things in some areas that we practice every week. First and second downs, third downs and red zone. We were five-for-five in the red zone, 70 percent on third down and obviously moving the ball on first and second down enough to get 35 first downs.”
Still, there were areas where Kentucky did not execute to the best of their abilities. Coen came up with a couple that proved to be very costly…Read More
A UK Win Would…
• Give Kentucky a sixth consecutive win over Vanderbilt and seventh in the past eight meetings.
• Move UK to 5-3 in SEC play and secure a winning conference record for the second time under head coach Mark Stoops (2018). It would be the second winning SEC record for UK since the 1977 team finished 6-0 in league play.
• Clinch second place in the 2021 SEC Eastern Division standings.
• Give Kentucky multiple SEC road wins this season.
• Give the Cats nine wins in the past 12 games.
• Give Stoops 29 SEC victories at UK, extending his school record.
• Give Stoops 56 career victories at UK, putting him just four wins shy of tying Paul “Bear” Bryant for the school’s all-time winning coach.
Kentucky-Vanderbilt Connections
• Kentucky has three players from state of Tennessee: DB Adrian Huey (Nashville), OT Darian Kinnard (Knoxville) and DL Tre’Vonn Rybka (Dickson).
• Vanderbilt has one player on its roster from Kentucky: LB Michael Spencer (Union)
Last Meeting vs. Vanderbilt
• Kentucky defeated Vanderbilt, 38-35, in Lexington on November 14, 2020.
• It was Kentucky’s fifth consecutive win in the series and fourth straight in Lexington vs. the Commodores.
• The game was played just days after the death of offensive line coach John Schlarman, who was battling stage four cancer.
• The team honored Schlarman by wearing a black sticker on their helmets with the initials “JS” in white letters. Senior offensive tackle Landon Young wore jersey number 65, Schlarman’s number at UK.
• On the first offensive play, UK took a delay of game penalty, graciously declined by Vanderbilt, as Young took the field wearing Schlarman’s jersey.
• Kentucky scored on its first five offensive possessions, extending into the third quarter.
• Kentucky has had a 100-yard rusher vs. Vanderbilt for four straight seasons, first time that has happened against VU since 1981-84.
• Chris Rodriguez Jr. rushed 13 times for a career-high 149 yards and a career-high-tying two touchdown. He averaged 11.5 yards per attempt, best for a UK rusher against an SEC opponent (min. 10 carries) since Randall Cobb averaged 17 yards (10 for 170) vs. Vanderbilt in 2010
Kenneth Horsey Named to Allstate AFCA Good Works Team
• Junior offensive guard Kenneth Horsey was one of 22 student-athletes, including one of just 11 football players from the FBS, to be named to the 2021 Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team®. The team honors football players for their dedication to community service and the positive impact they have made on the lives of others.
• Horsey, was the 2020 Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year, has a remarkable comeback story that has inspired his community service work for heart health.
• In the spring of 2018, before he was to arrive at Kentucky for his freshman season, he was complaining of a pain in his side. His parents rushed him to the emergency room where doctors ultimately found a growth on one of his heart valves. He went through open-heart surgery on April 8, 2018 and was even told by a few doctors that his football career was over. However, Horsey would not be deterred. He came to Kentucky and redshirted the 2018 season with a goal of earning a starting spot on Kentucky’s offensive line, affectionately known as the “Big Blue Wall.” In 2019, he saw action in four games and continued to train and prepare his body for the rigors of the Southeastern Conference. Since his surgery in 2018, he has lost 50 pounds and because of his hard work and dedication, has earned the starting left guard spot on the “Big Blue Wall.” He started in eight games played in 2020, helping the Wildcats rank fifth in the Southeastern Conference in rushing offense (187.4) and is the current starter at left guard on the 2021 squad.
• Because of his heart condition and how supported he felt through his surgery and recovery, he began volunteering with the Lexington chapter of the American Heart Association in 2020. Earlier this month, Horsey was even awarded the Finn Collier Service Award by the AHA in recognition of his work to support its lifesaving mission – to be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives.
• Horsey coordinated and planned a hands-only CPR training for the UK Football team and staff in the spring of 2021 and helped plan a Hands-Only CPR media availability on June 14 that promoted Hands-Only CPR awareness to the media for CPR Awareness Month.
• Kentucky has the second-most honorees on the national Good Works Team with 17. Horsey is the fifth player under head coach Mark Stoops to be named to the prestigious team, including the third straight – Landon Young, 2019; Luke Fortner, 2020. He’s also the third straight offensive lineman named to the team
