Given what Vanderbilt just did, this spread is kind of shocking.
It is game week once again as the Kentucky Wildcats come off their first bye week of the season. Their opponent? Likely the most popular team in America after this weekend in the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Coming off a huge win over the Alabama Crimson Tide in Nashville, the Commodores come into Lexington after a statement win that proves the program has gotten off the mat of the SEC.
Led by Diego Pavia and a unique offensive scheme, the game will test two strengths: the Vanderbilt offense and the Kentucky defense.
We would be naive, though, not to talk about the job Clark Lea has done in Nashville. A former player for Vanderbilt, Lea has adopted a style similar to that of Mark Stoops and Kentucky, as he has completely shifted the program.
Don’t believe it? Look at how the Commodores knocked off Alabama… ball control.
Kentucky is also coming off a huge program win, knocking off Ole Miss in Oxford.
An all-around complete game for the Cats, it was the offensive efficiency that likely stood out to most fans. After a few poor performances on that side of the ball, it appears Brock Vandagriff has finally started to gain some confidence in this UK offense. That’s great news for the future of this season.
The Wildcats defense will have their work cut out for them once again after putting together a masterclass performance against Ole Miss last Saturday. They slowed down Lane Kiffin and Jaxson Dart; now. Can they slow down Tim Beck and Diego Pavia? It should be a fun matchup to watch.
For UK fans, the Vanderbilt win is a good thing. Typically, this sets up as a trap game, especially after a huge top-10 win your last time out. Well, now this Kentucky team has to bring its A game in order to take down a Dores team that’s seven points away from being unbeaten and a top-10 team — they lost by four at Georgia State and by three at Missouri in overtime.
If you have any hesitation, that’s perfectly reasonable as well due to the team’s poor efforts coming out of the bye weeks in the Stoops era. This one feels different, however. A win over Vandy this season could go a long way.
Time to make it happen.
Go Cats!
How to watch Kentucky Wildcats vs. Vanderbilt Commodores
Time & Date: October 12th @ 7:45 PM
Location: Kroger Field in Lexington
TV Channel: SEC Network
Online Stream: WatchESPN
Listen: UK Sports Network with Tom Leach and Jeff Piecoro
Odds: According to FanDuel, the Cats enter the week as an 11.5-point favorite with an over/under of 46.5. That’s a surprising spread for a Dores squad that just took down the No. 1 team.
Early Predictions: DRatings projects the Wildcats to win 30-19. OddsShark has Kentucky winning 35-24, while Dimers is going with a 30-20 victory for Kentucky.
How do you see this one playing out? Send us your predictions in the comments section!