Kentucky rushes past Vanderbilt, keeps bowl hopes alive

Published

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Kentucky rushed for a season-high 398 yards and kept its bowl hopes alive with a 38-14 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday.

Lynn Bowden and Chris Rodriguez both rushed for over 100 yards for the Wildcats (5-5, 3-5 Southeastern Conference).

Rodriguez led the way, rushing for 129 yards and two touchdowns against the Commodores (2-8, 1-6). Bowden, in his fifth game at quarterback since movng over form wide receiver, added 110 yards rushing and one TD.

Kavosiey Smoke rushed for 95 yards and one TD for the Wildcats in a matchup between two teams near the bottom of the SEC’s Eastern Division.

The Wildcats scored 38 consecutive points after falling behind by two touchdowns early in the game.

It was the largest margin of victory in the series since 2001.

Kentucky rambled for 529 yards in total offense and nearly doubled Vanderbilt in time of possession.

Vanderbilt scored two touchdowns in 45 seconds to take a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

Ke’Shawn Vaughn scored on a 5-yard run with 5:21 left in the first quarter and two plays from scrimmage later cornerback Allan George raced to the end zone on a 67-yard fumble return to extend the Commodores’ early lead.

Vaughn rushed for 58 yards, moving him to eighth in career yards at Vanderbilt.

THE TAKEAWAY

Kentucky: The Wildcats need a home win over Tennessee-Martin or Louisville in their last two games to become bowl eligible for the fourth straight season.

Vanderbilt: The loss puts more pressure on coach Derek Mason, whose only wins this season were against Missouri and Northern Illinois.

UP NEXT

Kentucky: The Wildcats host Tennessee-Martin, an Ohio Valley Conference team, on Saturday.

Vanderbilt: The Commodores host East Tennessee State in their home finale Saturday.

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