** Kentucky allowed Gavin Wimsatt to take a deep shot to Barion Brown on his first play in the game and it wasn't completed but drew a personal foul call. The VU defender grabbed him right before the ball arrived.
** Demie Sumo-Karngbaye ripped off a couple of nine yard runs on the first drive and made guys miss at or behind the line of scrimmage both times.
** Langston Patterson's absence for Vandy was a big deal.
** Gerald Mincey was flagged for holding on the end around run by Barion Brown. He did have a hold of the jersey.
** Dane Key was flagged for a personal foul on the first drive. That made it 3rd and 17. He touched the defender's helmet with the ball after a catch. Vandy defenders had been jawing at Kentucky players (Barion in particular) all drive long. I watched this happening in real time and that first drive Vanderbilt looked like they were trying to get into the heads of the UK players and receivers in particular.
** Aidan Laros had a great first punt to pin the Commodores deep in their own territory and turn that first offensive drive at least until a great field position outcome.
** Jamon Dumas Johnson was flagged for a personal foul hit on Diego Pavia on Vandy's first drive. No helmet contact, drove his shoulder through him.
** UK averaged 41.2 penalty yards per game and matched that in the first half of the first quarter. Penalties derailed that first drive for UK and extended Vandy's.
** On Pavia's long touchdown throw late in the first quarter, a 97 yard drive, Ty Bryant had a chance to make a play on Pavia in the backfield but he was eluded and the receiver was running open. Too much time to cover for those guys and all Pavia.
** The two biggest plays on Vandy's touchdown drive to make it 7-0 were the personal foul flag on JDJ and then the missed sack in the backfield.
** Kentucky came out with an emphasis on downhill running to answer Vanderbilt's drive. A Vandy face mask moved them down the field. Dane Key made a great catch on a tough throw as he was being hit by a defender.
** Jordan Dingle had a nice run after the catch for a first down to put Kentucky into the red zone. He has been money on his targets this year, their most reliable tight end overall for the season probably.
** On 3rd and short BVG made a great power run through defenders to move the sticks and give them a new set of downs near the goal line.
** D'Eryk Jackson made a great play to give Diego Pavia his first interception of the season, reading the play fake and pass over the middle and tipping it to himself.
** Capers' injury and the delay bringing out the stretcher was a big emotional moment in the game. Tough to see his parents right there on the field watching not knowing how he's doing. Something the Commodores had to respond to.
** UK was flagged a couple of times right after that injury delay. False start on Barion Brown and then a flag on Marques Cox.
** Then, BVG is picked off rolling left and throwing across his body in the middle of the field. Didn't see a defender in front of the receiver. However, the play was ruled incomplete on replay. Maybe they saw a different angle but on the views I saw the ball didn't seem to touch the ground from the broadcast angles.
** On 3rd and long after the overturned interception BVG got great pass protection and spun it downfield to Key for the first down. That's the kind of protection they've been looking for on passing downs.
** The turnover comes next, with Dane Key fumbling after a catch, recovered by Vandy. UK was getting close to scoring position and that's a big moment. Penalties and turnovers for Kentucky so not the cleanest first half.
** Dumas-Johnson made a huge play getting a 12-yard loss on Pavia and really fighting to wrap him up in the backfield. Those plays are tough to get on Vandy and it sets them in an uncomfortable position with the sticks.
** Steven Soles was flagged and UK was sent back half the distance after a penalty on the Vandy punt. A nice 16-yard run by Wilcox got them out to about the 20.
** At this point, two to go in the first half, UK has more penalty yards than in any of its first five games.
** After the 2-minute timeout the refs say Vandy recovers a BVG fumble for a touchdown but he's clearly trying to throw the ball. Tough to have a lot of faith in the crew after making that call. The first half was a lot of sitting and waiting and not enough football.
** BVG was looking almost exclusively to Dane Key in the first half. Interesting but understandable. Eyes could have been better at times. In hindsight, UK got too aggressive after that Wilcox run got them out from the goal line. They were still only at their only 20.
** Pavia made a great throw in a tight window to get into FG range with Childress in coverage.
** Then he made a great touchdown pass to Hoskins in the corner of the endzone again with Childress in coverage. It looked like Vanderbilt was running the clock down too much so they would have to settle for a field goal.
** The second half started with Pavia handling UK's pressure. Not sure how much you get from blitzing him. He just dumps it off over your head and is very content to take his check downs.
** Barion Brown almost had a KO return for a touchdown after Vandy kicked a FG to make it 17-7. The kicker made a great open field tackle. Again, you see Brown has the elite speed but not the cut ability or elusiveness.
** Marques Cox was flagged for a false start at the 1-yard line. Then the playcalling got questionable. Against a tight box BVG runs inside for nothing and then he launches over a receivers head in the back of an end zone. The red zone TD rate ranks near the bottom nationally.
** What you really didn't expect was the miscue on special teams. Coming up empty there down 17-7 was brutal.
** Vandy had a couple of long methodical drives that combined for about 115 yards but only got two field goals out of it so Kentucky's defense tightened up where it counted. Not a good game for the defense because they did allow Vandy to move the ball pretty consistently, though.
** Big play late: On 3rd and 6, Pavia buys time and finds a receiver for a first down. He got outside the pocket and made an accurate throw. If it's not a long distance play, he's really the perfect guy for that Beck offense.
** UK's defense got the ball back for them but it was not smooth from that point. Mincey was flagged for holding and then BVG was sacked on first and long. Then Cox was flagged and it was 3rd and 32.
** Demie Sumo-Karngbaye ripped off a couple of nine yard runs on the first drive and made guys miss at or behind the line of scrimmage both times.
** Langston Patterson's absence for Vandy was a big deal.
** Gerald Mincey was flagged for holding on the end around run by Barion Brown. He did have a hold of the jersey.
** Dane Key was flagged for a personal foul on the first drive. That made it 3rd and 17. He touched the defender's helmet with the ball after a catch. Vandy defenders had been jawing at Kentucky players (Barion in particular) all drive long. I watched this happening in real time and that first drive Vanderbilt looked like they were trying to get into the heads of the UK players and receivers in particular.
** Aidan Laros had a great first punt to pin the Commodores deep in their own territory and turn that first offensive drive at least until a great field position outcome.
** Jamon Dumas Johnson was flagged for a personal foul hit on Diego Pavia on Vandy's first drive. No helmet contact, drove his shoulder through him.
** UK averaged 41.2 penalty yards per game and matched that in the first half of the first quarter. Penalties derailed that first drive for UK and extended Vandy's.
** On Pavia's long touchdown throw late in the first quarter, a 97 yard drive, Ty Bryant had a chance to make a play on Pavia in the backfield but he was eluded and the receiver was running open. Too much time to cover for those guys and all Pavia.
** The two biggest plays on Vandy's touchdown drive to make it 7-0 were the personal foul flag on JDJ and then the missed sack in the backfield.
** Kentucky came out with an emphasis on downhill running to answer Vanderbilt's drive. A Vandy face mask moved them down the field. Dane Key made a great catch on a tough throw as he was being hit by a defender.
** Jordan Dingle had a nice run after the catch for a first down to put Kentucky into the red zone. He has been money on his targets this year, their most reliable tight end overall for the season probably.
** On 3rd and short BVG made a great power run through defenders to move the sticks and give them a new set of downs near the goal line.
** D'Eryk Jackson made a great play to give Diego Pavia his first interception of the season, reading the play fake and pass over the middle and tipping it to himself.
** Capers' injury and the delay bringing out the stretcher was a big emotional moment in the game. Tough to see his parents right there on the field watching not knowing how he's doing. Something the Commodores had to respond to.
** UK was flagged a couple of times right after that injury delay. False start on Barion Brown and then a flag on Marques Cox.
** Then, BVG is picked off rolling left and throwing across his body in the middle of the field. Didn't see a defender in front of the receiver. However, the play was ruled incomplete on replay. Maybe they saw a different angle but on the views I saw the ball didn't seem to touch the ground from the broadcast angles.
** On 3rd and long after the overturned interception BVG got great pass protection and spun it downfield to Key for the first down. That's the kind of protection they've been looking for on passing downs.
** The turnover comes next, with Dane Key fumbling after a catch, recovered by Vandy. UK was getting close to scoring position and that's a big moment. Penalties and turnovers for Kentucky so not the cleanest first half.
** Dumas-Johnson made a huge play getting a 12-yard loss on Pavia and really fighting to wrap him up in the backfield. Those plays are tough to get on Vandy and it sets them in an uncomfortable position with the sticks.
** Steven Soles was flagged and UK was sent back half the distance after a penalty on the Vandy punt. A nice 16-yard run by Wilcox got them out to about the 20.
** At this point, two to go in the first half, UK has more penalty yards than in any of its first five games.
** After the 2-minute timeout the refs say Vandy recovers a BVG fumble for a touchdown but he's clearly trying to throw the ball. Tough to have a lot of faith in the crew after making that call. The first half was a lot of sitting and waiting and not enough football.
** BVG was looking almost exclusively to Dane Key in the first half. Interesting but understandable. Eyes could have been better at times. In hindsight, UK got too aggressive after that Wilcox run got them out from the goal line. They were still only at their only 20.
** Pavia made a great throw in a tight window to get into FG range with Childress in coverage.
** Then he made a great touchdown pass to Hoskins in the corner of the endzone again with Childress in coverage. It looked like Vanderbilt was running the clock down too much so they would have to settle for a field goal.
** The second half started with Pavia handling UK's pressure. Not sure how much you get from blitzing him. He just dumps it off over your head and is very content to take his check downs.
** Barion Brown almost had a KO return for a touchdown after Vandy kicked a FG to make it 17-7. The kicker made a great open field tackle. Again, you see Brown has the elite speed but not the cut ability or elusiveness.
** Marques Cox was flagged for a false start at the 1-yard line. Then the playcalling got questionable. Against a tight box BVG runs inside for nothing and then he launches over a receivers head in the back of an end zone. The red zone TD rate ranks near the bottom nationally.
** What you really didn't expect was the miscue on special teams. Coming up empty there down 17-7 was brutal.
** Vandy had a couple of long methodical drives that combined for about 115 yards but only got two field goals out of it so Kentucky's defense tightened up where it counted. Not a good game for the defense because they did allow Vandy to move the ball pretty consistently, though.
** Big play late: On 3rd and 6, Pavia buys time and finds a receiver for a first down. He got outside the pocket and made an accurate throw. If it's not a long distance play, he's really the perfect guy for that Beck offense.
** UK's defense got the ball back for them but it was not smooth from that point. Mincey was flagged for holding and then BVG was sacked on first and long. Then Cox was flagged and it was 3rd and 32.
