Vanderbilt played Kentucky in a Week 7 contest that's never seen the Commodores riding so high in confidence. They created a major upset the previous week after beating Alabama, and although they're still unranked, this was a massive confidence boost for the university.
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But no game is easy in the SEC, and the Wildcats would surely prove a fair challenge at home. Kentucky is also coming with a 3-2 record so nothing would've come easily, especially as the run for a bowl game is warming up.
In the end, the visitors picked off from where they left in the previous week and once again defeated an SEC team, moving to a positive record within the conference for the first time during Clark Lea's tenure.
Well, there's a lot to unpack here. Perhaps the most important thing is to go back to the previous week, when Vanderbilt surprised Alabama (and the entire world of college football), so one could really understand if the Vols showed up to this game unfocused.
Would it be good for them? Absolutely not - but that's not the point. When you beat a good team, your head goes through the roof. So it's amazing to see that Clark Lea's team showed up to play with a good gameplan and defeated a tough opponent on the road.
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The Commodores dominated the game from the start to the finish. Quarterback Diego Pavia followed up his amazing performance against Alabama by completing 80% of his passes for the second-straight game (15 of 18) for 143 yards. He also added two touchdowns.
Focusing once again on fundamentals and not letting the ball drop at any point, Vanderbilt showed that, while the win over Alabama could be considered a bit of a fluke, this team really has the substance to grind out tough games. To do so against Kentucky is impressive.
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We've gotten used to seeing underwhelming Vanderbilt teams over the past decades, but this program has improved. And Clark Lea's is a big reason for that. He laid out a plan to control the line of scrimmage and take away the big plays. It worked out perfectly.
Now sitting at 3-3 with a negative record inside the conference, it's time for the Wildcats to really get on with it instead of just getting isolated wins. This team has the potential - and the money - to play much better.
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About the author
Henrique Bulio
Henrique Bulio is an NFL and College Football journalist at Sportskeeda and the Editor-in-Chief of Pro Football Brasil. He has a total 13 years of experience working in American Football, and playing quarterback at an amateur level in Brazil has given him a unique perspective of the game.
Henrique follows the Philadelphia Eagles closely due to Michael Vick's historic performance on MNF against the Washington Commanders in 2010. His all-time favorite player is Ed Reed; he believes that Reed is the greatest safety to ever play the game. Bill Belichick gets the nod as Henrique's favorite coach for coaching the Patriots to glory over two decades.
If Henrique were to be able to go back in time and watch one game, it would be Super Bowl XLIX, where the Patriots and the Seahawks played a complete, back-and-forth game that concluded with one of the biggest talking points in NFL history.
Technical deep dives are Henrique’s specialty, and he ensures never to use misleading words in his articles, since he himself consumes a lot of information off the web. He has had the privilege of interviewing Cairo Santos, Lamar Jackson, Jim Harbaugh, Sean McDermott, Bruce Arians, Matt LaFleur, among others.
Aside from football, Henrique likes to play poker and Counter-Strike.
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