Vanderbilt has been live road dog against Kentucky

Vanderbilt and Kentucky will meet on the gridiron for the 98th time on Saturday. These two programs have played every year since 1953. Under head coach Mark Stoops, the Wildcats are 8-3 outright against the Commodores with five wins occurring by double-digits. Stoops has faced James Franklin, Derek Mason, and Clark Lea on the other sideline and has had much success in this series.

But Kentucky has not performed well as a double-digit home favorite against the Commodores.

Saturday will the the fifth time that Kentucky has laid double-digits at home against Vandy in the Stoops era. The Wildcats are 3-1 outright and 0-4 against the spread (ATS) in these situations.

• 2014 | Vanderbilt at Kentucky (-17) | Cats 17, Dores 7
• 2018 | Vanderbilt at Kentucky (-11) | Cats 14, Dores 7
• 2020 | Vanderbilt at Kentucky (-17) | Cats 38, Dores 35
• 2022 | Vanderbilt at Kentucky (-17) | Dores 24, Cats 21

Kentucky is 3-1 ATS in their last four games in Nashville with two covers as a double-digit favorite, but this program has found itself in close games at home against Vanderbilt. Last time here, Vandy rolled up 448 total yards and stunned Kentucky to end the program’s 26-game SEC losing streak.

There are some other trends going against Kentucky in this matchup. Under Stoops, UK is just 5-8 outright after bye weeks and has has failed to cover in eight games since 2017. The Wildcats are 4-7 ATS as a touchdown-plus favorite in their last 11 games against power conference foes. That includes a blowout loss to South Carolina this season. Kentucky is also just 2-9 outright and 4-7 ATS in its last 11 SEC home games.

We’ve seen the spread for this game move a few points in the home team’s favor since it opened on Saturday. Kentucky is currently a consensus 13.5-point favorite. However, recent trends says that Vanderbilt will be a live dog in this matchup.

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