LEXINGTON, Ky. — Vanderbilt heads into Saturday night at Kroger Field looking for a way out of a four-game slide, and the opponent standing in the way is a Kentucky team riding a five-game winning streak.
Kickoff is 6:30 p.m. Central on SEC Network. The Commodores come in at 3-4 overall and still searching for a first league win at 0-4, while the No. 12 Wildcats are 6-1 and 4-1 in the SEC, sharing first place in the conference with Georgia.
Last weekend went in opposite directions for the two programs. Vanderbilt fell 31-21 to Arkansas, while Kentucky went to Norman and beat Oklahoma 21-13 behind four interceptions from its defense and two touchdown catches by tight end Willie Rodriguez, both thrown by quarterback Kenny Minchey.
Kentucky has won five in a row under first-year coach Will Stein, who became the first coach in school history to open 4-1 in SEC play in his debut season.
Vanderbilt made head coach Clark Lea available to reporters during game week, along with Jared Curtis at quarterback and Ricardo Jones from the secondary.
The series could hardly be tighter. Kentucky holds a 48-45-4 edge all time and is 26-17-2 against Vanderbilt in Lexington, though the Wildcats have not beaten the Commodores at Kroger Field since 2020. Close games are the norm, with a touchdown or less separating the teams in six of their last 11 matchups.
The game also has a Tennessee flavor on the Kentucky sideline. Minchey is from Hendersonville, running back Martels Carter Jr. is from Chattanooga and defensive lineman Kalen Edwards is from Dyersburg. Going the other way, Vanderbilt freshman running back Evan Hampton grew up in Owensboro, Kentucky.
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