Kentucky football hosts Vanderbilt tomorrow night under the lights of Kroger Field as the Wildcats look to improve to 7-1 heading into the bye week. We previewed Vanderbilt's offense and defense as they are in a massive transition year. We also list our X factors
for the game on both sides of the football. After laying out Kentucky's path to victory in this game, I will now give my final thoughts and prediction.Kentucky is playing a night game in front of a sold out Kroger Field, and this will be true freshman quarterback Jared Curtis' first road SEC night game. The city is buzzing watching year one of Will Stein and the big blue nation will certainly play a factor in this football game. Kentucky's coaching staff is ensuring this team does not
overlook the Commodores, as they are reminding them the beatdown they suffered last season in Nashville and the incident of Vanderbilt players disrespecting the UK logo at midfield last time they were in Lexington. There are plenty of impact players for the Wildcats that remember the whooping they took last season, so I do not think Kentucky will sleep walk their way into the bye week.
As we stated when we laid out Kentucky's path to victory, this game is a massive advantage for the Wildcats on the line of scrimmage. Kentucky's offensive line has been incredible this season, and I expect them to get a ton of movement in the running game as well as keeping quarterback Kenny Minchey clean in the pocket. On the other side of the football, Kentucky's defensive line should dominate this Vanderbilt offensive line. Jared Curtis will be facing pressure, but the key for the Wildcats is to get him on the ground and not let him extend plays by erasing sack opportunities.
Another key area is always the turnover margin, and Kentucky is one of the best teams in the nation at winning the turnover margin consistently. Statistically, Kentucky ranks third in FBS with a +11 turnover margin, trailing only New Mexico and Notre Dame. This is a large advantage in Kentucky's favor, as Curtis is a true freshman and already has multiple interceptions and fumbles on the season. If Kentucky can continue to win the turnover battle as they have all season, this game has blowout potential.
Kentucky's offense has yet to put it all together, we saw them at their best on the road at Texas A&M in a dominant third quarter performance. This could be the game where it clicks for four quarters for this offense. Kentucky ranks fourth in the SEC in success rate and explosive play rate combined. Vanderbilt is dead last in the conference in success rate allowed and they rank bottom five in the SEC in explosive play rate allowed. This is a huge opportunity for the Wildcats to put on an offensive showcase against an SEC team to go into the bye week on a high note.
This game is monumental for Kentucky, and we have seen SEC teams struggle the game before their bye week this season. Kentucky has to put together a great game to go into a bye week where they could be a top ten team in the country the next time they take the field if they can get this win. The first College Football Playoff rankings will happen over that bye week and if the Wildcats take care of business, they will be on the graphic. A win here could set up a November to remember for the Wildcats where everything is on the table from SEC Championship to College Football Playoff talks.
Prediction: Kentucky 42, Vanderbilt 17
This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: Kentucky vs Vanderbilt: Final Thoughts & Prediction
