Kentucky Football Postgame Notes
Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt
Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020
Kroger Field – Lexington, Ky.

FINAL SCORE: Kentucky 38, Vanderbilt 35

Team Records and Series Information

• Kentucky is 3-4 and Vanderbilt is 0-6.
• Kentucky leads the series 47-42-4 and has won five in a row.
  • It’s the longest win streak vs. VU since winning six in a row from 1976-81.
  • UK has won four games in a row vs. VU in Lexington, longest home win streak vs. the Commodores since four in a row from 1984-90.
• Next for Kentucky: the Wildcats play at Alabama on Saturday at 4 p.m. EST (3 p.m. CST in Tuscaloosa) and it will be televised on the SEC Network.
  • Note that the SEC can change each week’s schedule until Monday at 9 p.m.

Team Notes

• The team honored assistant coach John Schlarman, who died Thursday, by wearing a black sticker on their helmets with the initials “JS” in white letters.
  • Senior offensive tackle Landon Young wore jersey number 65, Schlarman’s number at UK. (photo above)
  • On the first offensive play, UK took a delay of game penalty, graciously declined by Vanderbilt, as Young took the field wearing Schlarman’s jersey. 
• Coach Mark Stoops posted his 47th win today, tying Fran Curci for second place in UK history.
• This was Coach Stoops’ 34th home win, breaking the school record of 33 by Paul “Bear” Bryant.
• This was Coach Stoops’ 23rd SEC win, moving into sole possession of second place in UK history. Curci has the mark with 25 league wins.
• Since 2016, UK is 14-7 in games decided by seven points or fewer.
• Kentucky scored on its first five offensive possessions, extending into the third quarter.
• Kentucky had 458 yards of total offense, averaging 8.3 per offensive play.
  • That’s the highest average vs. an SEC opponent since averaging 8.7 yards per play vs. Vanderbilt in 2010.
• Kentucky had 308 rushing yards today, averaging 8.8 per attempt, and did not lose yardage on any rushing play.
• Kentucky has had a 100-yard rusher vs. Vanderbilt for four straight seasons, first time that has happened since 1981-84.
• UK had three players (Jamin Davis, Marquez Bembry and Yusuf Corker) with at least 10 tackles, first time vs. a Football Bowl Series opponent since 2014 at LSU.
• UK scored 38 points against Vanderbilt in both 2019 and ’20, first time to tally that many in consecutive seasons vs. an SEC opponent since against VU in 2005 and ’06.

Player Notes

• UK’s game captain was senior offensive tackle Landon Young.   See note above for more on Young.
• Senior quarterback Terry Wilson completed 13 of 15 passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns.
  • He completed 86.7 percent, second-best single game completion percentage in school history (min. 10 completions). 
  • He also rushed seven times for 83 yards, including a 32-yard TD run and a 27-yard scramble on 3^rd-and-26 late in the first half that set up a field goal.
  • This was the third game of his career with at least two passing TDs and one rushing TD.
  • UK scored on six (five TDs, one field goal) of the seven possessions he played.
  • On the seven possessions he played, UK averaged 9.1 yards per play.
  • Now has 925 career rushing yards, most for any UK quarterback with at least 1,700 career passing yards. 
• Sophomore running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. rushed 13 times for a career-high 149 yards and a career-high-tying two touchdowns.
  • TDs included a three-yard run in the third quarter and a career-long 74-yard jaunt in the fourth quarter. The 74-yarder is longest by a UK player vs. Vanderbilt since Derrick Locke’s 83-yarder in 2010.
  • He averaged 11.5 yards per attempt, best for a UK rusher against an SEC opponent (min. 10 carries) since Randall Cobb averaged 17 yards (10 for 170) vs. Vanderbilt in 2010.
  • It is his third 100-yard game of the season and fifth of his career.
  • He has two 100-yard games vs. Vanderbilt, also 129 yards last season.
  • Now has 1,138 career rushing yards, the 39^th player in school history to reach 1,000 career yards.
  • He wore uniform number 22 today in honor of teammate Chris Oats, who is dealing with a serious medical condition.
• True freshman quarterback Beau Allen saw his first varsity action.  He completed 3 of 5 passes for 40 yards.
• Senior running back A.J. Rose gained 49 yards on only seven carries, averaging 7.0 yards per attempt.
  • Rose now has 1,596 career rushing yards, needs 13 to tie Steve Campassi for 18^th place in school history.
• Redshirt freshman wide receiver DeMarcus Harris tied his career high with four catches and had a career-best 33 yards.
• Senior wide receiver Josh Ali caught three passes for 15 yards.
  • He also returned two punts for 38 yards, including a career-long 39-yard return in the third quarter that set up a short touchdown drive.
• Senior tight end Justin Rigg caught a 15-yard touchdown pass on UK’s first offensive possession, his first career TD reception. (It is his second career TD after a fumble recovery for a score last season.)
• Sophomore tight end Keaton Upshaw had a 21-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter, his second of the season and third of his career. 
• Playing his first game since 2018, junior wide receiver Isaiah Epps caught one pass for eight yards.
• Junior linebacker Jamin Davis had a career-high 15 tackles, his fifth consecutive game with double-figure stops.  
  • He also had a one-yard tackle for loss. It is his second-straight game to set a career best, as he had 13 stops vs. Georgia.
  • The last Wildcat with five-consecutive double-figure tackle games was Danny Trevathan, who had nine straight in 2010. 
• Making his first collegiate start, junior linebacker Marquez Bembry had a career-high 10 tackles.
• Junior safety Yusuf Corker had 10 tackles, the third double-figure game of his career.
• Senior linebacker Boogie Watson had two tackles and shared a quarterback sack with Josh Paschal.
  • Watson has 17 career sacks, nearing Jeremy Jarmon’s 17.5 sacks for fifth place in school history.
• Sophomore Chance Poore saw his first action this season as a placekicker. He enjoyed a perfect day, making a 28-yard field goal on the final play of the first half, along with all five extra points.
• Seeing his first collegiate action, senior punter Colin Goodfellow did a fine job, punting three times for a 46.3-yard average, and there were no return yards.
• First-time starters were junior offensive guard Austin Dotson and junior linebacker Marquez Bembry.

COURTESY KENTUCKY ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS