Cats snap losing skid with 34-17 win at Vandy
Kentucky's Brendan Bates (80) celebrated after Chris Rodriguez scored on a first-half touchdown run. (George Walker IV/USA Today Sports)
Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated
Managing Editor Edit
@JDrumUK
Kentucky wasted no time Saturday in burying its three-game losing streak.
The Wildcats scored on their first four offensive possessions and squeezed in a Pick-6 by the defense en route to an insurmountable halftime lead and a 34-17 win at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville.
"Proud of our team," UK head coach Mark Stoops said. "It's been a long several weeks, for sure. You can get beat up and beat down physically and mentally in this league, that's for sure, and I really appreciate our players bouncing back, having a great week of preparation, and coming on the road and getting another SEC East victory."
A trio of juniors led the way for Kentucky (7-3, 5-3 SEC). Running back Chris Rodriguez rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Will Levis passed for 177 yards and two touchdowns, while receiver Wan'Dale Robinson caught six passes for 75 yards and a score.
Sophomore safety Jalen Geiger, making his first career start, also got in on the fun, intercepting a pass from Vanderbilt quarterback Ken Seals and returning it 31 yards for a touchdown to give the Cats a 21-3 lead early in the second quarter.
"I thought the first half was the best complementary football we've played in some time," Stoops said.
Kentucky finished with 412 yards of total offense while holding the Commodores to 266.
Vanderbilt (2-8, 0-6 SEC) got some offensive momentum going in the second half after a quarterback switch from Seals to Mike Wright, who engineered a pair of touchdown drives with fourth-down scoring passes to Chris Pierce and Amir Abdur-Rahman, but the Commodores could never draw closer than 17.
"It's an OK feeling," UK's Rodriguez said of finishing league play at 5-3, "but there's a whole lot more left to play."
The Cats close out the regular season with a pair of non-conference games against New Mexico State and rival Louisville with an eye on a 9-3 campaign and an attractive bowl bid.
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In this edition of our Rapid Recap, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK victory...
GAME BALL:
Will Levis, Kentucky - The Cats' quarterback set the tone for the game by completing his first eight passes, including touchdown strikes to Wan'Dale Robinson and Izayah Cummings to help build a 31-3 lead by halftime. He completed 14 of 22 passes on the night and extended a couple of drives with his running ability.
BY THE NUMBERS:
1st - Time that Kentucky has finished in sole possession of second place in the SEC East since the league split into divisions in 1992.
2nd - Time since 1977 that Kentucky has finished SEC play with a winning record. The Cats also went 5-3 in 2018.
4 - Sacks by the UK defense, including two by senior defensive end Josh Paschal.
7.1 - Yards per play by the UK offense.
12 - First downs picked up by the Cats before facing their first third-down snap.
69 - Yards rushing by UK sophomore running back Ju'Tahn McClain, a career-high.
236 - Rushing yards by the Cats, including 116 by Chris Rodriguez to top the 1,000-yard plateau for the season (1,043).
QUOTABLE:
"I thought our leaders really played well... Those guys left it all on the field, for sure." -- UK head coach Mark Stoops on his veteran offensive trio of Will Levis, Chris Rodriguez, and Wan'Dale Robinson.
UP NEXT:
The Cats return to Kroger Field next week for the home finale against New Mexico State. The Aggies (1-9) lost 59-3 on Saturday at No. 3 Alabama. Kickoff for Senior Day is slated for Noon ET on the SEC Network.
