DeAndre Square, Jacquez Jones out against Vanderbilt

Kentucky‘s linebacker depth continue to wane as UK’s two super senior linebackers have been ruled out against Vanderbilt.

DeAndre Square, who was injured against Tennessee two weeks ago, and Jacquez Jones, who hasn’t been in the lineup since September but was questionable coming in, were not seen warming up prior to Saturday’s matchup, according to KSR’s Adam Luckett.

It seemed Square wasn’t improving at the pace Stoops originally expected, and even halfway through the week the Kentucky head coach expressed his doubts that he’d play against the Commodores. Now, Kentucky will be without its main signal caller on defense for a second straight week.

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Even though he missed last week’s game, Square is still the team’s leading tackler with 55 total on the season. Add in a sack, an interception and three passes defended, Square has been a menace for opposing offenses all season long and is sorely missed in the center of the UK defense.

Kickoff between the Wildcats and Commodores is set for noon ET live from Kroger Field on the SEC Network.

Mark Stoops: Offense is ‘stalling’ against Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt‘s 26-game losing streak against SEC opponents is 30 minutes from being snapped as the Commodores lead No. 24 Kentucky 7-6 at halftime inside a wet, cold and snowy Kroger Field.

Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops discussed his team’s poor first half performance before heading into the halftime locker room.

“We’ve got to make some plays. We’re not good enough in the red zone,” Stoops said. “Missed another kick, a low kick, so once we get that, we’ve got to score some touchdowns. … We’ve had some good play-action passes, we’ve converted on some of those. Once we get in the red zone, we’re stalling and we can’t miss kicks and we’re getting penalties on special teams again.”

Kentucky’s offense has ended up on Vandy’s side of the field on all four offensive possessions, but only has six points to show for it. Kicker Matt Ruffolo went 2-3 on field goal attempts in the first half, nailed 47 and 27-yard kicks respectively, and saw a 37-yard attempt blocked that would’ve seen Kentucky take a 9-7 lead.

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A 59-yard quarterback run by Mike Wright was good for the only touchdown of the entire first half. Other than that play, Vanderbilt’s offense hasn’t been able to put together a strong drive. Since then, they’ve thrown an interception, went three-and-out and went 39 yards on 10 plays and was forced to throw a Hail Mary on the final play of the half.

UK quarterback Will Levis hasn’t been able to find his rhythm, either throwing 9-of-12 for 91 yards, while the team rushed for just 56 yards compared to Vandy’s 129. 

Kentucky will receive the second half kickoff as it looks to take the stave off the Commodores at home. Catch the rest of the game live on the SEC Network.