Kentucky football will try to keep to momentum rolling as they enter their bye week after they host Vanderbilt under the lights on Saturday. Kentucky just played one of the best defenses in the SEC in Oklahoma, and now they get to play one of the worst as we previewed the Vanderbilt defense. On the offensive side of the football, the Commodores are led by five star true freshman quarterback Jared Curtis. The offense has struggled but Curtis has shown plenty of flashes although he has a ton of room to grow.
In our Vanderbilt defensive preview, we really centered it around Kentucky's offense and how they can exploit the Commodores defense. We are going to do the same here because this game is about Kentucky staying focused to enter the bye week
with a 7-1 record. Jared Curtis has a rocket for an arm and is a big, physical runner. Kentucky head coach Will Stein said that Curtis plays like Josh Allen, but he made it clear he was not making the comparison.
Coach Stein is correct though, Curtis can make unreal throws down the field and runs with physicality that is rare at the quarterback position. However, Curtis has a long way to become the dangerous player he is capable of. Curtis still needs to fix little things like footwork, staying in the pocket and taking care of the football. Curtis has one of the highest turnover worthy play percentages in the SEC, he will put the ball in harms way against this Kentucky defense that has been incredibly opportunistic this season.
Curtis does not have much help around him, his offensive line has struggled all season. Vanderbilt allows the highest pressure rate in the SEC, which has led to Curtis being sacked a total of 10 times this season. However, Curtis is really difficult to bring down with his 6'4, 230-pound frame. His ability to erase sack opportunities is similar to South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers.
Kentucky will win this matchup in the trenches, this deep defensive line unit will be able to get consistent pressure on Curtis. The biggest question will be how often they can convert those pressures into sacks, which they have been better at doing the last two weeks against Sam Leavitt and John Mateer. It will be a vital coaching point all week for the Wildcats to finish the play and get Curtis on the ground. If they allow Curtis to extend plays with his legs and erase sacks, it can lead to big plays down field as a passer or scrambling for a first down.
Luckily for Kentucky, they won't have to see wide receiver Tre Richardson as he transferred to Louisville. Richardson lit them up last year down the field with Diego Pavia throwing all over this defense. I am sure a lot of the returning Wildcats on the defense have not forgotten that 45-17 beatdown last year in Nashville. This motivation will play a factor against a Vanderbilt team that is in a rebuilding stage.
The Commodores receiving room is led by veteran Junior Sherrill, who is far and away the best weapon on this offense. Sherrill leads Vanderbilt in receptions, yards and touchdowns. He has four touchdowns on the season and all other wide receivers have combined for just one on the season. This is the guy to watch when Vanderbilt is on offense, they will force feed him the football.
Vanderbilt offensive coordinator Tim Beck has one of the most unique offenses in the country and we saw how dangerous it could be last season. However, they lost their quarterback Diego Pavia who thrived in his system, they also lost their mismatch tight end Eli Stowers and the explosive weapon Richardson who transferred to Louisville. This is very much a transition year for this offense and it shows up on film. Kentucky has another opportunity to make a statement on defense after creating four turnovers and holding Oklahoma to just one touchdown last week.
This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: Vanderbilt offense preview: Kentucky can win in trenches
