Refreshed Vanderbilt Football Looks to Keep Postseason Hopes Alive Against Surging Kentucky

Vanderbilt is in search of its ninth win against a Kentucky team that has found rhythm.

Nov 8, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores wide receiver Junior Sherrill (0) runs with the ball after a made catch against the Auburn Tigers during the overtime period at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

NASHVILLE – It may not be a high-profile matchup like Vanderbilt’s games against Alabama, Missouri or Texas, but Saturday is a tricky game that should have the attention of Vanderbilt this weekend against Kentucky.

Heading into Vanderbilt’s matchup against Kentucky this weekend, the Commodores are fresh off a bye and looking to finish the season strong and its homestand the right way. But it will not be easy. The Wildcats have a newfound life and identity over the past month that has turned their season around.

Less than a month ago, Kentucky was 2-5 and coming off a 56-34 loss to Tennessee in which the Wildcats did not look competitive from the defensive side of the ball at all. Since then, they have rallied off three straight victories in convincing fashion against Auburn on the road and Florida and Tennessee Tech at home. Vanderbilt is looking to prevent Kentucky from going into an opponent’s territory and spoiling another fun atmosphere in a must-win scenario for Vanderbilt if it is to keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive.

What has made Kentucky suddenly a tricky game and one that Vanderbilt needs to keep its attention on is Kentucky’s defense. In the last three games, Kentucky has allowed just 20 points total and has found a rhythm offensively in the previous two games.

“It’s a really important game at home against Kentucky, a team that's seemed to have found identity, and is on a winning streak right now and playing really well. It's a testament to Coach Stoops, who I think has just been a remarkable program builder in this league,” Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea said in his Tuesday press conference. “He's got some really talented people in the backfield with him and talented people on the perimeter, but you can see him stepping in and playing with some chemistry and connection with that offense and defensively.”

From the perspective of Vanderbilt’s defense, it is going to need to pay attention to Kentucky’s rushing attack. In Kentucky’s 38-7 blowout win over Florida, the Wildcats finished with 243 yards rushing. The rushing attack is split up between Donte Dowdell and Seth McGowan, who have 528 yards and 693 yards, respectively. McGowan has gotten most of the carries, but Dowdell has proven to be a nice complement to him.

The good news for Vanderbilt is that it is still among the top 25 teams in college football in rushing defense. The Commodores have allowed just 112.5 rushing yards per game against a Kentucky team that is in the upper half of teams in the country at running the ball.

One concern about Vanderbilt over the past couple weeks has been its defense. It is coming off consecutive games in which the Commodores allowed 34 points or more between Texas and Auburn. Lea did address that with his team during the bye week. It is not a matter of the play calls, but rather a matter of communication.

“We focused on communication and on tightening our process. I want to see less reloaded plays in practice. I want to see us get it right the first time,” Lea said. “I think there's so much of defensive football that comes down to actually, are you in your structure? Are you executing your structure, getting your technique that fast on the opponent? When you do that, you make plays really hard to run, and when you don't do that, you chase the ball down.”

Ball security is going to be a big point of emphasis for the Vanderbilt offense this weekend. Part of what has contributed to Kentucky turning a corner the past few weeks has been its defense’s ability to create turnovers. Kentucky created six turnovers between Auburn and Florida, which was more turnovers it forced in its other five conference games combined.

It was Kentucky’s defense that allowed the offense to run up the score against Florida and Tennessee Tech and it was the Kentucky defense that won the game in Auburn. For Vanderbilt though, it has done a good job throughout the season of taking care of the ball. The Commodores are tied for 12th best in the country in turnovers lost with only nine. and hopes to keep that trend going Saturday.

“The playing of Vanderbilt football, you know we're gonna have a chance at the result we want. If we don't, we leave it a chance, and we know what that looks like,” Lea said.