Vanderbilt Football Heavily Favored Over Kentucky
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NASHVILLE—Vanderbilt football is a 9.5-point favorite against Kentucky per FanDuel Sportsbook.
Vanderbilt had been the underdog in 51-straight SEC matchups, but has been favored in four of its last five games–including Saturday’s. Those games have resulted in three Vanderbilt wins and a loss. The Commodores boosted their stock and moved up to No. 10 in the AP Top 25–its highest ranking since 1947 and the second-highest ranking in program history–at one point this season, but are now ranked in the teens and are pushing for the College Football Playoff in their final two games. If they win out, they’ll be firmly in the mix to receive a spot in the 12-team field.
The Commodores are 8-2 on the season with wins over LSU, South Carolina, Missouri, Virginia Tech, Utah State, Georgia State and Charleston Southern in addition to their win over Auburn. They’ve lost to Alabama and Texas.The Commodores will likely have to go 2-0 the rest of the way to find themselves in the College Football Playoff field.
If Clark Lea’s team leaves FirstBank Stadium with a win over Kentucky on Saturday, it will mark Lea’s third win over the Wildcats and his first win over Mark Stoops’ program at FirstBank Stadium. The Commodores were blown out in the Wildcats’ last trip to Nashville.
Kentucky is just 5-5 and has its back against the wall in regard to its bowl eligibility. The Wildcats took down Tennessee Tech on Saturday and have won three in a row, their most convincing win came a week ago in a 38-7 drubbing of Florida.
The three other wins for the Wildcats came against Toledo, Eastern Michigan and Auburn. They’ve lost to South Carolina, Ole Miss, Georgia, Texas and Tennessee. The losses to Texas and Ole Miss were one-score games.
Vanderbilt looks to hand Kentucky another loss. It appears as if it believes it can based off of its prior rèsumè.
“This is a new Vandy,” Vanderbilt defensive end Khordae Sydnor said after its win over LSU. “People expect that we’re gonna win. It’s period point blank, in the SEC we can compete with anybody and I think you saw it today.”
“If we end the season with six wins we’re going to be pissed,” Vanderbilt tight end Cole Spence added. “We're trying to go win a national championship. That's our goal for this year.”
Time to see if it can bolster its rèsumè again with a win over Kentucky on Saturday.
_(1)-b3e453dfe426b2dd4b83a12540ebdb37.jpeg "Joey Dwyer")
Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Basket Under Review and Mainstreet Nashville.
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