LIVE BLOG: Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt

A Cutter Boley Mistake at the Goal Line

Kentucky had a quick pass near the goal line dialed up. Boley hesitated, and it cost him. The pass was picked off. It could’ve been returned for six, but Cutter slowed him down enough for Kendrick Law to make the tackle.

Is Pavia Human?

Pavia did not finish with a perfect day. His wide receiver tipped a pass, and it was intercepted by Ty Bryant, his fourth of the season. The Kentucky safety leads the SEC in interceptions.

Touchdown Kentucky!

The final score isn’t going to look nearly as ugly after the Cats got a little thing going through the air. Cutter Boley found JJ Hester, who slipped away from defenders and sprinted down the sideline for a 41-yard touchdown. He has four touchdowns in only seven receptions this season.

Wow

Pavia entered Heisman mode and Clark Lea’s letting him improve his resume. He threw two long balls, the latter of which was a jaw-dropping 32-yard touchdown. He’s up to 448 yards, four touchdowns, and a rushing touchdown as Vandby builds its lead to 45-3. We still have another quarter.

Pavia Touchdown

He decided to run it this time. Pavia has 15 carries. The Vandy running backs have combined for five. Pavis is in cruise control, padding stats for his Heisman campaign.

It’s 38-3. Can we just throw in the towel?

Three-and-Out, Again

If you were holding out any hope, it’s okay to let go of the rope. After a couple of runs, Boley’s pass to Josh Kattus on third and four was batted down. Kentucky punted the ball away. Let’s see what Pavia has up his sleeve now.

Pavia is Undeniable

Diego Pavia is doing whatever he wants, whenever he wants. Sure, Kentucky will get a sack here and there, but it doesn’t matter. He’ll just run for a first down on the next play. His third touchdown of the day was a beautiful ball in the corner of the end zone to Junior Sherrill.

He’s 22-26 for 313 yards, and he’s also Vandy’s leading rusher. The Dores lead 31-3.

Three Touchdowns for Richardson

It looked like Quay’sheed Scott was going to be able to make a play to pick the ball off. Instead, Tre Richardson caught a 56-yard touchdown, his third of the first half. Pavia has 179 yards on 18 completions and Vanderbilt leads 24-3. They get the ball first to start the second half. This is gonna be ugly.

Boley Returns

The Kentucky QB was able to get back into the game on 3rd and 4. Unfortunately, nothing was doing and he was tackled before getting back to the line of scrimmage. Kentucky appeared to be going for it, but Stoops reconsidered. Jacob Kauwe nailed the 47-yard field goal to get Kentucky on the scoreboard.

Vandy Gamble Fails

Vanderbilt could have punted the ball away to Zach Calzada with less than two minutes to go. Instead, they went for it on fourth and 1. They also took the ball out of Pavia’s hands. Dumb. The direct snap was botched, giving Kentucky the ball just outside of field goal range.

Calzada Interception

Bush called a shot on Calzada’s first play, and it almost worked. The Cats had an open target on the flea-flicker, but the safety was able to recover and break up the pass.

Two plays later on third and long, Calzada went deep. This time the safety read it like a book. Calzada was picked off, giving Vandy the ball at their own 26-yard line.

Cutter Boley Injured

The Kentucky quarterback made a great play to evade the pass rush before finding Willie Rodriguez for a gain of 13. He didn’t avoid the second hit. His helmet went flying off, and he’s down on the turf. Zach Calzada is preparing to enter the game.

Kentucky Misses Opportunity

Another Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace sack had Kentucky sitting pretty. All they had to do was get a stop on 3rd and 11. They did not.

Pavia had three straight first-down throws to get the Dores into the red zone before Mark Stoops was forced to burn a timeout. Two plays later, Tre Richardson caught a swing pass for a 15-yard touchdown.

Vandy leads 17-0 with 4:35 left in the first half.

A Switch on the Offensive Line

Kentucky got a first down to get out of the shadow of its own end zone. That’s when Jalen Farmer had to leave the game for an unknown reason. Evan Wibberley came in at center and Jager Burton moved to right guard.

Vandy blitzed on every snap after that and Kentucky had no answers, resulting in a Cutter Boley sack on third down.

SACK LUNCH

On second and long, the Kentucky defense got the big play the Wildcats desperately needed. Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace used an inside move to blow by the Vandy offensive tackle, and he drove Pavia to the turf.

Finally, something good! Let’s see if the offense can capitalize on the momentum.

Another 3-and-Out

Zero yards. That’s not good. Kentucky’s offensive line can’t do anything in the run game. The ball is sticky in Cutter’s hands. I don’t know if guys aren’t open or what, but this has all the makings of a game that could get ugly in a hurry.

NOT GREAT BOB!

Tre Richardson ran right past JQ Hardaway. Pavia nearly overthrew his receiver, but Richardson was able to reel it in and run away with a 71-yard touchdown. It was the longest pass of Pavia’s career.

Vandy leads 10-0 with 13:03 to go in the second quarter. This is not the team you want to play against from behind.

Exactly What Can’t Happen, Happened

The Kentucky offense had to get something going on that drive. After an 8-yard gain to Hardley Gilmore on first down, the second-down play got blown up. Still, the Cats only needed a yard to keep the drive alive. The offensive line was a sieve. Vandy was in the backfield instantly, tackling Seth McGowan for a loss. The Cats have just one first down, and the ball is back in Pavia’s hands.

At least Vandy got tagged with a holding penalty on the punt?

Kentucky Escapes by Forcing a Field Goal

The Vanderbilt drive took up nearly the entire first quarter, but they were only able to get three points out of it.

The Dores picked on Grant Grayton on fourth and short to keep the drive alive and move into the red zone. That’s when Kentucky stood strong. They blew up a reverse, forcing Pavia to keep it and scramble around, ultimately resulting in an ineligible receiver downfield flag. Grant Godfrey had an outstanding pursuit of a screen to make it third and long. Pavia tried to pick on Grayton again, but this time the true freshman made a hit that jarred the ball loose in the end zone.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Cats mitigated the damage on a 15-play, 53-yard drive that took 9:48. The offense has to help them out on this drive.

Kentucky Avoids a Special Teams Disaster

A screen to Kendrick Law did not work, forcing the Cats to punt. Aidan Laros’ kick was nearly blocked by Vanderbilt. He was able to get the ball away for a 36-yard punt.

Kentucky gets the Ball First

Vanderbilt won the toss and elected to defer. It’s Cutter Boley time. Let’s have a Saturday.

Perfect Football Weather

Folks, it doesn’t get much better than this. It’s currently 62 degrees with overcast skies at FirstBank Stadium. Not too warm, not too cold, just right. Mother Nature has been kind to the Cats throughout the 2025 season.

KSR EMERGENCY

The Vanderbilt Commodore wiped out on an ATV this morning. That had to be an omen for what’s to come for Vandy, right? Well, I’m here to reveal another.

There isn’t any coffee in the FirstBank Stadium pressbox. This is a catastrophe for the KSR crew. How will we survive? There’s no way of knowing.

The good news? Auburn also did not have coffee in the pressbox, and we all remember how things went on The Plains. Kentucky is also wearing the same uniforms from that game. I’m not saying, I’m just saying.

Two Game-Time Decisions

Terhyon Nichols has been downgraded to out. Kentucky is down three cornerbacks, passing the torch to true freshman Grant Grayton, who started last week against Tennessee Tech. The Cats also only have one available nickel, Quay’sheed Scott. We will not know if Alex Afari and Kahlil Saunders are available until kickoff.

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