No. 12 Kentucky Beats Vanderbilt 34-17 – UKAthletics

No. 12 Kentucky fell behind early but rallied to beat Vanderbilt 34-17 on Saturday night at Kroger Field.
Kentucky (7-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) got 203 yards passing and a touchdown from quarterback Kenny Minchey. Willie Rodriguez caught six passes for 67 yards and also rushed for a touchdown, while D.J. Miller caught five passes for 43 yards and a score.
Vanderbilt (3-5, 0-5) got the first possession of the game and the Commodores made three first downs, crossing midfield in the process. However, Vandy quarterback Jared Curtis was sacked by Aaron Gates and C.J. Works to end the drive. Vanderbilt punted and Kentucky took over at its own 15 with 8:33 left in the first quarter.
Kentucky went three-and-out on its first possession and the Cats punted the ball back to the Commodores, who saw Martel Hight return it 45 yards to the UK 20 yard line. That’s where Vandy took over with 6:09 to play in the first quarter.
The UK defense came up with a stop, and Vandy was forced into a field goal attempt. Brock Taylor was good from 30 yards out and the Commodores led 3-0 with 3:57 left in the first.
The Cats went three-and-out again on their next drive and punted the ball back to Vanderbilt, who took over at their own five yard line.
As the first quarter ended, Vanderbilt was driving near midfield, holding a 3-0 lead.
Vanderbilt would increase its lead in the second quarter. The Commodores covered 95 yards in 16 plays, ending when Curtis found tight end Jayvontay Conner for a three-yard touchdown. Taylor added the PAT and Vanderbilt led 10-0 with 9:03 left in the half.
Kentucky would get its initial first down of the game on the ensuing drive. Mikkel Skinner rushed for 16 yards to get the Cats to the 41 yard line. Two plays later, Jason Patterson rushed up the middle for seven yards and another first down as the Cats got into Vandy territory.
On the next play, Minchey found Willie Rodriguez for a 21-yard gain, and Vandy was called for roughing the passer, giving UK a first down at the Vandy 13. Four plays later, Minchey connected with D.J. Miller for a nine-yard touchdown pass. Adam Zouagui added the extra point and UK cut the Vandy lead to 10-7 with 5:04 left in the half.
The momentum continued for the Cats on Vanderbilt’s next possession. The UK defense forced a three-and-out and the ‘Dores punted it and the Cats took over at their own 21 with 3:49 left in the half.
Kentucky would take advantage of the additional possession. The Cats methodically drive into Vandy territory, with Minchey going six of seven for 57 yards. On the 13^th play of the drive, Rodriguez, lined up in the Wildcat formation, rushed for a one-yard touchdown to give Kentucky their first lead of the game. Zouagui added the point after and the Cats led 14-10 with 24 seconds left in the half. That would be the halftime score.
The Cats got the ball to start the third quarter and the offense continued to click. Minchey found Rodriguez for seven yards and a first down and three plays later, the UK quarterback found Kenny Darby down the right sideline for a 44-yard gain to the Vandy 13. Three plays later, reserve quarterback Brennen Ward took a direct snap and rushed 10 yards for a touchdown. It was Ward’s first career rushing attempt. Zouagui added the point after and UK led 21-10 with 10:35 left in the third quarter.
Vandy would respond with a scoring drive of its own. The ‘Dores drove 75 yards in nine plays, ending with a fourth-down touchdown pass from Curtis to Jared Thomas covering 34 yards. Taylor added the PAT and Kentucky’s lead was cut to 21-17 with 5:45 left in the third period.
On Kentucky’s next drive, Minchey found Rodriguez for 10 yards and later found Darby for a 20-yard completion, getting the ball to the Vandy 40. However, the drive would stall and UK would be forced into a field goal attempt. Zouagui connected from 47 yards out to extend the lead to 24-17 with 1:24 left in the third.
The UK defense made a huge play on the next Vanderbilt drive. Curtis dropped back to pass, was hit by Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace, who caused a fumble that was recovered by UK’s Tavion Gadson. The Cats would take over at the VU 17. The third quarter ended with Kentucky leading 24-17.
As the fourth quarter began, the Cats were in prime scoring position. However, the Cats’ drive would go nowhere and Kentucky was forced to settle for a field goal. Zouagui was good from 32 yards out and UK led 27-17 with 14:10 left in the game.
Vanderbilt was moving the ball on its next possession, getting a pair of first downs and crossing midfield. However, Curtis looked for Conner over the middle but instead was intercepted by UK’s Ty Bryant, who took it back to the Vanderbilt 47. The Cats took over there with 11:49 remaining.
Kentucky would put together a scoring drive while also running the clock. The Cats used 13 plays to cover 47 yards over 6:38. The drive ended on a one-yard Minchey touchdown rush. Zouagui’s PAT was good and Kentucky stretched its lead to 34-17 with 5:11 to play.
Kentucky would run out the clock from there to preserve its seventh win of the season.
UK has next weekend off before returning to action on Nov. 7 at Tennessee. Kickoff time and TV designation will be chosen on Monday.
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