Kentucky 34, Vanderbilt 17: Wildcats erase a 10-0 hole and pull away

No. 12 Kentucky trailed by 10 points midway through the second quarter on Saturday, then scored 34 of the game's final 41 points to beat Vanderbilt 34-17 at Kroger Field. The Wildcats did not turn the ball over. The Commodores did twice, and they could not run the ball at all.

Kentucky ran for 173 yards. Vanderbilt ran for 15. That gap let Kentucky control the second half, turning a 21-17 lead late in the third quarter into a three-score finish.

How it was won

Vanderbilt started well. B. Taylor hit a 30-yard field goal with 3:57 left in the first quarter, and Jared Curtis found J. Conner for a 3-yard touchdown at 9:03 of the second. It was 10-0.

Kentucky answered twice before the half. Kenny Minchey threw a 9-yard touchdown to DJ Miller at 5:04, and Willie Rodriguez ran in from a yard out with 21 seconds left. Kentucky led 14-10 at the break.

B. Ward's 10-yard run at 10:35 of the third made it 21-10. Curtis replied with his best throw of the day, a 34-yard touchdown to J. Thomas at 5:45, and Vanderbilt was within four. It did not score again.

A. Zouagui kicked a 47-yard field goal with 1:24 left in the third and a 32-yarder at 14:10 of the fourth. Minchey closed it with a 1-yard touchdown run at 5:11. Zouagui went 2 for 2 on field goals and 4 for 4 on extra points.

Minchey finished 19 of 26 for 203 yards and a touchdown. Jovantae Barnes ran 15 times for 68 yards and Jason Patterson added 44 on 12 carries. Kenny Darby caught four passes for 71 yards; Rodriguez had six for 67 to go with his rushing score.

Curtis was 27 of 36 for 247 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, and was Vanderbilt's busiest runner with eight carries for 6 yards. Junior Sherrill caught eight passes for 78 yards and Cole Spence five for 49.

Vanderbilt converted 7 of 12 third downs and held the ball for 28:57, close to even. The difference was elsewhere: Kentucky had 376 total yards to 262, 24 first downs to 15, and a 2-0 edge in turnovers.

Against the number

Kentucky closed at -9.5 and won by 17, a clear cover once Minchey scored in the fourth. Bettors holding the Wildcats at -440 on the moneyline collected; Vanderbilt at +340 never led after halftime.

The total closed at 51.5 and the teams scored 51, so the under landed by half a point. Kentucky's final drive ended in a touchdown with five minutes left, and nobody scored after it. The full price history is on the game page.

What's next

Kentucky moves to 7-1, its only loss a 45-17 defeat to Alabama in September. Four of its last five wins have come by 10 points or fewer, including one-point wins over LSU and South Carolina. After an open week, the Wildcats play at No. 11 Tennessee on Saturday, November 7.

Vanderbilt is 3-5 and has lost five straight since a 3-0 start. Its last four losses have come against Auburn, Georgia, Ole Miss and Arkansas, and this was the third in that run decided by 10 or more. The Commodores also have a week off before visiting Mississippi State on Saturday, November 7.