Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt National Media Predictions

Kentucky’s special season went off the rails with the loss to Tennessee. For the Cats to save face and stay in the conversation for a decent bowl, a win over Vanderbilt is a must. Fortunately, the Commodores seem willing to oblige. Vandy is 2-7 this season, its only wins coming at Colorado State and vs. UConn. Kentucky is a 21.5-point favorite, with the total set at 52.5.

Trips to Nashville have been tricky for the Cats in years past, but the national media is confident Kentucky will take care of business. Here’s a roundup of predictions.

ESPN FPI and PickCenter

CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee: Kentucky

The Wildcats offense exploded in the shootout loss to Tennessee last week, but had been brutal in the two losses leading up to last weekend’s fireworks. So, who are the real Wildcats? I think they’re closer to what we saw last week than they are to the team that we saw in the previous two games. Quarterback Will Levis will exploit the second-worst defense in the conference and make this one laughable by the fourth quarter. Pick: Kentucky (-21)

College Football News’ Pete Fiutak: Kentucky

The Commodores have had two weeks off to rest up, and they needed it after giving up well over 1,000 yards of total offense to Mississippi State and Missouri. They’re not going to give up 500 yards to the Wildcats, but they’ll be run over for close to 200 yards as they have problems on too many third downs.

Kentucky has a whole slew of flaws, and it can be pushed by a good passing team. That’s not Vanderbilt. This won’t get ugly, but every time it seems like the Commodores have a shot to get in the game, they won’t.

Kentucky 30, Vanderbilt 13

The Athletic’s Allan Taylor: Kentucky

The sheen is gone for Kentucky after dropping out of the rankings with three consecutive SEC losses. But until you’ve dropped 18 straight, as the Commodores have, you don’t know true suffering. The scary part for the Wildcats is that their defense has slipped to 10th in the conference in yards allowed per play. There’s a strong chance Kentucky can close the regular season at 9-3, provided it remembers how to get stops. Kentucky 37-20

The Athletic’s Seth Emerson: Kentucky

This isn’t to knock Mark Stoops, who really has been a good coach for Kentucky, but at what point do we learn our lesson on building up the Cats before the inevitable November comedown? Well, they’ll come back up this week, at least. Kentucky 35-14

Athlon Sports’ Rob McVey: Kentucky

Kentucky appears poised to get back to its winning ways. And the Wildcats shouldn’t have much trouble doing just that on Saturday night against a struggling Vanderbilt squad that hasn’t won an SEC game in over two years. The Wildcats do have an issue with turnovers, ranked second-to-last in the nation in turnover margin at -12. But as long as they take care of the football, it should be smooth sailing against an inferior Vanderbilt team that struggles mightily on both sides of the football.

Prediction: Kentucky 37, Vanderbilt 17

Your turn.