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Vanderbilt Upsets No. 24 Kentucky to Snap Wild SEC Losing Streak

Coach Clark Lea earned his first conference win with the program in dramatic fashion.

Zach Koons

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Vanderbilt stunned No. 24 Kentucky on the road Saturday to notch the program’s first SEC win in over three years. 

The Commodores earned their first conference win under second-year coach Clark Lea in dramatic fashion. Trailing 21–17 after a 72-yard touchdown run by Wildcats running back Chris Rodriguez Jr., Vanderbilt quarterback Mike Wright marched his team down the field on a 12-play, 80-yard drive. He capped the possession off with an eight-yard touchdown strike to Will Sheppard on third-and-goal to put the Commodores back in front with 32 seconds remaining.

Kentucky had one final chance to get into field goal range, but Will Levis took a sack and then threw an interception on consecutive plays, sealing Vanderbilt’s 24–21 victory.

The win marked the first time since October 2019 that the Commodores won an SEC game and the first time since ’07 that the program had beaten a ranked conference opponent on the road. The result was extra special for Lea, the former Notre Dame defensive coordinator, who earned his first SEC victory since taking over at Vanderbilt in 2021. 

“They just kept fighting,” Lea said. “When you stay in the fight and you believe, good things happen and they were able to make it happen in the end.”

“I’m proud of all of the guys. They earned that. It’s been a long run,” Lea added while choking up. “But they earned it… You gotta bunch of guys that are fighting. And we’re building a program. Building a program is hard and it takes tough people that are aligned doing the right things the right way.

“That’s what these guys are doing. I’m glad they got rewarded today.”

After winning just two games in Lea’s first year with the program, the Commodores picked up their fourth victory of 2022 on Saturday. Now 4–6 on the year, Vanderbilt will return back to Nashville for a matchup with Florida on Nov. 19.

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Zach Koons
ZACH KOONS

Zach Koons is a programming editor at Sports Illustrated who frequently writes about Formula One. He joined SI as a breaking/trending news writer in February 2022 before joining the programming team in 2023. Koons previously worked at The Spun and interned for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He currently hosts the "Bleav in Northwestern" podcast and received a bachelor's in journalism from Northwestern University.

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