A special weekend in Lexington ruined by Kentucky's letdown against Vanderbilt

Everything was in place for a special homecoming weekend in Lexington. Big Blue Madness was a hit Friday night, with over 20,000 fans in Rupp Arena to welcome Mark Pope, Kenny Brooks, and their brand new teams into new eras and seasons of Kentucky Basketball. Madness reignited the Big Blue Nation, headlined by Pope welcoming Rick Pitino back into the fan base to a loud reception. Pitino followed his surprise appearance at Madness with a surprise appearance on Kentucky Sports Radio, a shocking turn of events for KSR.

Perfect weather made Keeneland’s fall meet an attractive daytime activity. The Keeneland doubleheader was available to anyone who wanted to try it on Friday and Saturday. Many Kentucky Football fans pulled it off on Saturday, riding that Keeneland buzz into the parking lots of Kroger Field for Kentucky versus Vanderbilt. Homecoming festivities, a black-out, and lively tailgating set the stage for the Wildcats to win a home SEC game against college football’s Cinderella. Kentucky was favored by nearly two touchdowns at kickoff.

Until that moment, all was well around the Big Blue Nation. Things were awesome, actually. Then, Mark Stoops’ program laid an egg out of the bye week, a Mark Stoops tradition. The lack of discipline was evident immediately.

Kentucky’s opening drive against Vanderbilt showed promise, but it was marred by two costly penalties that pushed the Wildcats out of scoring territory. A holding call on Gerald Mincey nullified Barion Brown’s 12-yard run. Two plays later, Dane Key’s unsportsmanlike penalty after a significant gain near the red zone moved the offense back another 15 yards.

The penalties continued from there. By halftime, Kentucky had eight for 71 yards. The Wildcats finished with 12 for 106 yards. The worst of those was a false start on the goal line. Down 10 in the third quarter, Kentucky needed one yard on second down to score a touchdown before veteran Marques Cox moved his team back with a critical pre-snap penalty. Amazingly, the drive ended with zero points when holder Wilson Berry bobbled the snap on the fourth-down field-goal try. A botched hold would happen to Kentucky again on a PAT try later in the game.

Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes. One after another, by a team with two weeks to prepare. Kentucky beat itself with a comedy of errors, some of which we’ve seen many times before. Take, for instance, the two minutes before halftime. It’s a tie game, and Kentucky took over with two minutes and change before intermission. Somehow, the Wildcats managed to turn that situation into a touchdown deficit at the half. The offense threw three straight incompletions, punted it back to Vanderbilt, then allowed a six-play, 60-yard, go-ahead touchdown drive to the Commodores. Those seven points mattered in the end, huh?

Every point matters when Kentucky’s offense has four touchdowns in four SEC games this season. The 10-point deficit in the second half felt insurmountable, and it was. With only 20 points scored, Vanderbilt won its second straight over Kentucky in Lexington, spoiling an otherwise perfect Big Blue weekend.

On the way out, the once-happy fans voiced their frustrations over Stoops, the penalties, and losing a second home game in 2024 as a double-digit betting favorite. The South Carolina loss blindsided everyone earlier in the year, but dropping a homecoming game under the lights to Vanderbilt is worse. Fans were riding high into the stadium, only to leave wondering what’s next and when they’ll be let down again. For now, this massive letdown is going to take some time to get over.