Kentucky at Vanderbilt
When: 7 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Vanderbilt Stadium (capacity 39,790).
TV: ESPN2 (play-by-play, Anish Shroff; analysis, Mike Golic Jr.; sideline, Taylor McGregor).
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1.
Satellite Radio: TBA
Records: Kentucky (6-3, 4-3 SEC); Vanderbilt (2-7, 0-5 SEC)
Series history: Kentucky leads 47-42-4 and has won six of the past seven meetings.
Last meeting: Kentucky beat Vanderbilt 38-35 at Kroger Field on Nov. 14, 2020.
Line: Kentucky is favored by 22.5 points.
The story line
Kentucky tries to shake off any hangover from last week’s crushing 45-42 loss to Tennessee and snap a three-game losing skid vs. a Vanderbilt team that has lost 18 SEC games in a row.
The number to watch
Vanderbilt’s passing percentage. Over the prior three games, the Kentucky secondary has allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete a stunning 82.3 percent of their passes while throwing for eight touchdowns with no interceptions. Vandy QBs will enter the game completing only 55.1 percent of their throws with five TDs vs. 11 interceptions. If the Commodores strafe the UK pass defense, the Wildcats secondary will officially be at rock bottom.
The big threat
Mike Wright. With the 6-foot-4, 190-pound sophomore assuming the starting quarterback duties in place of classmate Ken Seals, Vanderbilt seems to be transitioning to more of a read-option attack. In a 37-28 loss to Missouri two weeks ago (Vandy was off this past week), Wright ran for 152 yards on 14 carries and threw for three touchdowns even as the Commodores fell 37-28.
On the spot
Mark Stoops. With Kentucky coming off a deflating loss to Tennessee that eliminated any possibility of UK’s first double-digit-victory regular season since 1977, it will fall to the Wildcats head man to assure that his team turns up in Music City ready to play.
The mood
Is downcast. After a 6-0 start had the Big Blue Nation dreaming of a New Year’s Six Bowl, a three-game UK losing streak — punctuated by another heart-breaker vs. perennial Wildcats nemesis Tennessee — has left Kentucky backers feeling blue. A win over struggling Vanderbilt may not do much to lift spirits but a loss would be Cat-astrophic.
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