After one half of football, No. 24 Kentucky is down 7-6 to the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Yeah, you read that right. Here are some halftime thoughts from the press box.
Kentucky has had three trips inside the Vanderbilt 30-yard line. Here are the results:
Field goal
Field goal
Blocked field goal
-That’s not great. Especially for a team like Kentucky, who’s normally made the most of its chances near or in the red zone this season. The Vanderbilt defense hasn’t been awful through one half of football, but it shouldn’t be considered good enough to keep Kentucky from finding the end zone.
Matt Ruffolo started out hot, drilling a 47-yarder then a 27-yard chip shot. It must feel good from him to see the ball go through the uprights after what’s been a forgetful season. At least until the third kick attempt was blocked at the line.
Once again, the offensive line has been bad, allowing pressure from all angles, including some really clean blitzes that have gotten to Levis. The UK QB still has passing yards at the break, but if he could operate in a consistently clean pocket, things would come much easier.
It’s been a nice bounce back game for Tayvion Robinson, as he has catches for yards through 30 minutes. Getting him involved in the offense seems like a focal point for Rich Scangarello today.
Vanderbilt has ran a great scheme on offense. Mike Wright has 76 yards on the ground, 72 through the air. He’s doing a great job running the read option and is making all of the right throws, not forcing anything. Kentucky can’t get a lick of pressure on the QB when it matters.
Vandy running back Ray Davis is running hard, having piled up 44 yards on 10 rushes. As a team, the Dores have out-gained UK 129-56 on the ground. Kentucky’s defense has done okay, but not as well as Big Blue Nation would have hoped.
Kentucky’s final possession of the half saw Mark Stoops opt to punt on 4th and 3 near midfield. Why? You should have faith in your offense to be able to get three yards against a defense that allows almost 40 points a game. That decision could be one we come back to at the end of the game if this result turns out to be dreadful for the Wildcats.
If you’re the Cats, you have to find a way to finish these long drives and get in the end zone. There is absolutely zero reason to be losing to a team of Vandy’s caliber, especially when its only scored 7 points through two quarters. This second half is big for the future of Rich Scangarello.
Wildcats Today will have live coverage of the second half right here.
