Kentucky won its first SEC Conference game since November 26, 2011 when it knocked off Vanderbilt at home Saturday afternoon. The 17-7 win marks the first conference win in the tenure of second-year head coach Mark Stoops.
Sophomore quarterback Patrick Towles accounted for both of the Wildcats’ touchdowns on the afternoon. Towles hit Ryan Timmons on a 20-yard score to cap off a 99-yard drive in the first quarter and later added a rushing touchdown on a 1-yard plunge with eight seconds left in the first half.
Towles played a pretty efficient ballgame, completing 23-of-30 passes to 11 different receivers for 201 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Featuring a bevy of ball carriers, Kentucky racked up 183 yards on the ground. Braylon Heard led the way with 62 yards on 15 carries, while Jojo Kemp added 60 yards on only eight attempts.
The Wildcats’ defense pitched a shutout, as Vandy’s only score came on a 13-yard interception return by Darrius Sims early in the second quarter. The Commodores could only muster 139 yards of total offense (85 through the air, 54 on the ground) while committing three turnovers – all on Wade Freebeck interceptions.
Kentucky showed in its three-overtime loss to Florida two weeks ago that it was a much-improved team compared to the squads that won a combined four games in the past two seasons. Now that UK, now 3-1, finally halted its SEC losing streak at 17, Stoops and company will have a big test coming next week when South Carolina comes to Lexington.
The Gamecocks are one of four ranked teams left on Kentucky’s schedule, so the Wildcats’ level of competition is going to elevate quickly in a wide open SEC East.
For more Kentucky news, CatsIllustrated.com.
For more Vanderbilt news, visit VandySports.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
From Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo Sports - Kentucky snaps 17-game SEC losing streak in 17-7 win over Vanderbilt
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