Kentucky Flips a 10-0 Hole, Beats Vandy 34-17 for Sixth Straight

No. 12 Kentucky beat Vanderbilt 34-17 Saturday night at Kroger Field, scoring 34 of the game's last 41 points after falling behind 10-0, and the defense held the Commodores to 15 rushing yards.

Our Take: This was not a clean night, and Vandy owned the first 20 minutes. But Kentucky did what good teams do. It stopped the bleeding before halftime, did not turn the ball over once and wore down a Vanderbilt team that could not run the ball. A six-game win streak is not luck.

## How it happened

Vanderbilt struck first. Brock Taylor hit a 30-yard field goal with 3:57 left in the first quarter, and the Commodores pushed it to 10-0 when Jared Curtis found Jayvontay Conner for a 3-yard touchdown at 9:03 of the second quarter. Curtis was surgical early, 17 of 22 for 130 yards in the first half, and Vandy went 6 of 9 on third down to keep the Kentucky offense on the sideline.

Kentucky answered before the break. Kenny Minchey hit DJ Miller for a 9-yard touchdown at 5:04, and with 21 seconds left in the half Willie Rodriguez ran it in from a yard out to put the Cats ahead by four at halftime. Minchey was 10 of 13 for 98 yards and a score in the first half, with no turnovers. Rodriguez had three catches for 44 yards before his rushing TD, and the defense held Vandy to 17 rushing yards on 12 carries.

Kentucky got the ball to open the second half and kept the momentum. Offensive coordinator Joe Sloan went to his bag of tricks: Brennen Ward took a direct snap while Minchey went in motion and ran 10 yards for a touchdown at 10:35 of the third quarter, pushing the lead to 11. A 44-yard strike from Minchey to Kenny Darby set it up.

Vanderbilt answered. After a replay review overturned a stop and gave Junior Sherrill a 12-yard catch on third down, Curtis hit Ja'Cory Thomas for a 34-yard touchdown on fourth-and-3 at 5:45 of the third, cutting the lead to four. That was as close as it got. Adam Zouagui hit a 47-yard field goal with 1:24 left in the third to make it a seven-point game again and a 32-yarder at 14:10 of the fourth to push the lead back to 10. Minchey then finished it with a 1-yard touchdown run at 5:11 of the fourth for the 34-17 final.

The turning point was the end of the first half, when Kentucky scored twice in under five minutes to turn a 10-point hole into a four-point lead. After the break, the defense kept Curtis in front of it. Vanderbilt scored just seven second-half points. For the game, Kentucky forced two turnovers: a Ty Bryant interception and a fumble recovery by Tavion Gadson. Curtis still finished 27 of 36, but almost all of it was short stuff, and Vandy ran for 15 yards on 17 carries.

## Numbers that mattered

- Final: Kentucky 34, Vanderbilt 17
- Total yards: 376 for Kentucky, 262 for Vanderbilt
- Minchey: 19 of 26, 203 yards, 1 TD passing, 0 INT; 1 rushing TD
- Leading rusher: Jovantae Barnes, 15 carries for 68 yards (Kentucky ran for 173 as a team)
- Leading receiver: Kenny Darby, 4 catches for 71 yards, long of 44; Willie Rodriguez had 6 for 67
- Curtis: 27 of 36, 247 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, sacked 3 times
- Third down: Kentucky 8 of 13, Vanderbilt 7 of 12
- Turnovers: Kentucky 0, Vanderbilt 2 (1 interception, 1 lost fumble)

## Injuries

The one to watch is CJ Baxter. The running back was back after missing the Oklahoma game, but he left in the second quarter, just before DJ Miller's touchdown catch, and went to the locker room for evaluation. The SEC Network broadcast called it an upper-body injury, and he finished with one carry for 3 yards and one catch for 5. Kentucky has not given an update on his status yet. We will add it here if Will Stein shares one.

Kentucky played without six players listed out on the SEC availability report: wide receiver Nic Anderson, tight end Lincoln Watkins, linebackers Sam Greene and Antwan Smith, and defensive backs Jaden Smith and Grant Grayton. Jovantae Barnes (15 carries, 68 yards) and Jason Patterson (12 carries, 44 yards) carried the run game with Baxter out.

## What it means

Kentucky is now 7-1 (5-1 SEC), and that is six straight wins since the Sept. 12 loss to Alabama: Texas A&M, South Alabama, South Carolina, LSU, Oklahoma and now Vanderbilt. Kentucky came in going for six straight and got it. It also leaves the Cats alone in first place in the SEC: at 5-1 they are half a game ahead of Georgia, which was idle, according to the AP. The only blemish all year is still Alabama. With three league games left, Kentucky has also clinched a winning SEC record, and it snapped a two-game losing streak to Vanderbilt.

The offense did not need to be flashy. It ran the ball 39 times for 173 yards, went 8 of 13 on third down and did not turn it over. The defense gave up 10 points in the first 21 minutes and seven after that. Kentucky came in ranked No. 12, and a road win at Tennessee would make a strong case to move up, but rankings are up to the voters.

## What's next

Kentucky has a bye next week, then goes to Knoxville to face Tennessee on Saturday, Nov. 7. Kickoff time and TV are still to be announced. After that, the Cats host Florida on Nov. 14, go to Missouri on Nov. 21 and close the regular season at home against Louisville on Nov. 28.

The open week comes at a good time. It gives Nic Anderson, who sat out tonight, two weeks to get healthy, and gives CJ Baxter time to recover after he left tonight's game. It also gives the staff time to fix the slow starts. Vandy went up 10-0 by moving the ball short and quick, and Tennessee will try the same thing.

What to watch: Kentucky's first-quarter defense. The Cats have been the better second-half team, but falling behind 10-0 in Knoxville would be much harder to fix.

Sources: AP game story, ESPN box score, Kentucky Athletics recap, On3 SEC availability report, SEC Sports box score, Courier Journal live updates