Kentucky Suffers Season-Staggering 24-21 Loss to Vanderbilt in Lexington
Disaster has struck Kentucky football.
In what's perhaps the worst loss of the Mark Stoops era, No. 24 Kentucky fell 24-21 to the Vanderbilt Commodores in Lexington at a gloomy Kroger Field.
Vandy (4-6, 1-5 SEC) wide receiver Will Sheppard hauled in a go-ahead score with 36 seconds left in the game that would prove to be the deciding factor. The win snapped a 26-game SEC losing streak for the Commodores, as well as a six-game losing streak to Kentucky.
"Disappointed. You know, disappointed with the way things have gone. I think everybody is," head coach Mark Stoops said following the loss. "For whatever reason, I'm not getting it done with this team, getting them in a position to be successful."
Kentucky (6-4, 3-4) managed to find the end zone just twice in four quarters against statistically one of the worst defenses in the nation. if not for running back Chris Rodriguez, who notched both of those scores, the Wildcats would have found themselves in a much deeper deficit than what the final score indicated. Rodriguez tallied 162 yards on 18 attempts, including a 72-yard house call that gave Kentucky its final lead late in the fourth quarter.
The struggles were clear from the get-go, as Kentucky squandered multiple possessions in the Vandy red zone. In three trips, the Wildcats managed just six points on a pair of Matt Ruffolo field goals. He would attempt three, but the last attempt of the bunch would get blocked at the line, keeping UK's streak of special teams horrors alive.
"It's just killing us because it's stopping momentum, stopping plays," Stoops said. "We're not converting the field goal all the time. You know, even the three there, you know, and Ruff(olo) kicked it good three of the four, but it's got to be four of four. It's just got to be clean."
"it's just not efficient, it's got to be better," offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello added. "I'm very surprised, I had high expectations to throw the ball today."
Vanderbilt quarterback Mike Wright was the one who met those expectations today for the Commodores, doing damage through the air and on the feet. He finished with 310 yards of total offense (184 passing, 126 rushing) filling in for starting QB AJ Swann, who was unable to play on Saturday. Wright ripped the first touchdown of the game, keeping a read option and taking it 59 yards to the end zone.
He out-played Kentucky QB Will Levis, who mustered just 109 yards through the air on 11-23 passing. He was sacked four more times on Saturday. The offense as a whole was never able to click once again, something that's become all-too common over the course of the season.
"Not enough hype. Not enough juice," Levis said post-game. "We talked about it among us all week and we did not buy into it. We did not play hard as they did. We knew they were going to play hard as they play hard every single game you see them play, whether they lose by 50 or win you never know. We knew that about them, and we did not match them today.”
"It's not just Will," Stoops said. "It's hard for me to say that right now until I look at the film and see what we're doing around him, what position we're putting him in to be successful, how players are playing around him."
Defensively, Kentucky put in a forgettable performance, allowing the Commodores to finish with 448 yards of total offense. Running back Ray Davis compiled 129 rushing yards and a touchdown on 26 attempts. Vandy was near lights-out on third-down, converting on 11 of 17 opportunities.
"Third down was a problem for us today," Stoops said. "Didn't look at the numbers, but I know from watching the game there were some big time third downs that they converted. One way or another, throwing it or running it."
The loss is a sinking one for Kentucky, leaving any hopes of making a decent bowl game to finish the season in the dust. To make matters worse, the road isn't getting any easier for the final two games of the regular season.
Next up is a date with undefeated No. 1 Georgia, a team that Stoops is yet to beat during his tenure as Kentucky skipper. Following the probable loss is a rivalry matchup with Louisville, a team that's finally finding its stride, while the Cats are currently suffering from a different fate.
Stoops understands the spot that the program currently finds itself in, even more so he knows the solutions have to start from the top with him:
"You have to continue to grind and build your culture, your team, your mentality, and I'm not doing a good enough job with it right now," he said. I told the team that. I can't ask them to -- before they blame or talk amongst groups and things like that to take a good look themselves and make sure they're doing things, I would be a hypocrite if I didn't do that myself, and the staff."
Kickoff against Georgia is set for 3:30 p.m. EST on Nov. 19 and will air on CBS.
