The Wildcats got their revenge.
A year after Vanderbilt defeated Kentucky (6-4, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) to attain bowl eligibility, the Wildcats ran the Commodores ragged in the second half Saturday at Vanderbilt Stadium to win 24-13 and reach six wins. The Commodores (2-9, 0-7) lost their seventh straight game as they allowed 307 rushing yards.
Vanderbilt once again fell flat in the second half. After putting up 13 points, more than the team had scored in a conference game all year, in the first half, the Commodores could get nothing going after that and their defensive line was dominated.
Kentucky's Randall Cobb and Derrick Locke ran over and around Vanderbilt all afternoon. The dangerous Cobb rushed for 99 yards and two touchdowns, and Locke rushed for 144 yards and a score. Locke also had a 41-yard pass to Morgan Newton in the first quarter to set up a Cobb touchdown.
Cobb scored after a bullying drive to open the second half where the Wildcats threw the ball just one time to take a 17-13 lead, and Locke scored from 14 yards out on a reverse in the fourth quarter for the final margin.
The Wildcats only passed the ball 14 times (throwing two interceptions) on the day as opposed to 58 rushing plays, averaging 5.3 yards per carry.
After falling behind 7-0 early, the Commodores responded with a series of nice drives that fans had been rarely treated to this season. Ryan Fowler kicked field goals from 42 and 47 yards to cut the deficit to one point.
Three plays after an interception by Myron Lewis to set Vanderbilt up with great field position at the Kentucky 20 in the second quarter, Mackenzi Adams threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to John Cole. who made a juggling grab by the right pylon of the end zone to give the Commodores a 13-10 lead they took into halftime.
The second half was a different story though. Vanderbilt heads to Knoxville next Saturday for its season finale and will try to knock off the Volunteers at Neyland Stadium for the second time in four years.
