Will Stein is not taking Vandy lightly heading into Saturday

Kentucky has an interesting matchup on their hands Saturday, taking on a Vandy team that is 0-4 in the SEC so far this season, but yet, has had Kentucky's number the last three seasons. After getting off to an impressive 6-1 start and pushing for a College Football Playoff birth as they look to continue stacking up wins.

For Will Stein, he's making sure he and his players have the right mindset and are not taking the Commodores lightly. To Stein, that record next to their name does not matter. He knows the recent history between Kentucky and Vandy, even pointing out how the Wildcats were embarrassed by them last season.

Nov 22, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores wide receiver Junior Sherrill (0) cuts back after a made catch against the Kentucky Wildcats during the second half at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"I don't think any of us in this room or this organization need to be fooled by any type of record. Last time I checked, (Vandy) embarrassed Kentucky last year and so we know what they are able to do in all three phases."

Adding to that, Stein then went on to discuss why Vandy is no team to be taking lightly, even if their record suggests otherwise.

"They have an elite head coach in Clark Lee. Just being around him a little bit in some of these SEC meetings, he really drives home the the message for us as coaches to the AFCA and throughout the country. I think he's extremely intelligent, really tough, and one of the best head coaches in the country. Their offensive coordinator, Tim Beck, super creative, balance attack, tough. They can run it. They can throw it. They present a ton of issues defensively for us, and so it's going to be us playing our very best and really sound football. ...Their (defensive coordinator's) got an NFL background, and so he does a lot of good stuff in their pressure packages on first, second, and third down. And special teams coordinator Jeff LePack, I think they have really good specialists. Their punter can boom it. He can really punt very far. They have a good scheme. They're sound in what they do. So, they're good in all three phases."

Vanderbilt Commodores head coach Clark Lea, looks out onto the filed before the game between the Arkansas Razorbacks and Vanderbilt at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Stein also noted that wide reciever Junior Sherrill, to him, is the best reciever in the conference. In fact, he is 11th nationally in receiving yards, so that is a big area that Kentucky will need to focus in on. Just by simply looking at box scores and wins and losses, it can be easy to take Vandy lightly, but they're looking to spoil someone's season and Kentucky needs to keep that in mind.

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