EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

Overview:

On Saturday, October 20^th, the (3-4) Vanderbilt Commodores will be on the road to take on the (5-1) Kentucky Wildcats.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of Kentucky 31.4 – Vanderbilt 21.6 with an over/under of 53.0.

Lou Holtz and Mark May:

Lou is predicting a final score of Kentucky 24 – Vanderbilt 13.

Mark is predicting a final score of Vanderbilt 23 – Kentucky 20.

2018-19 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: Vanderbilt 238.5 YPG > Kentucky 145.5 YPG

Rushing offense: Kentucky 223.5 YPG > Vanderbilt 151.6 YPG

Scoring offense: Kentucky 29.3 PPG > Vanderbilt 25.4 PPG

Scoring defense: Kentucky 13.8 PPG > Vanderbilt 25.9 PPG

Passing defense: Kentucky 185.5 YPG > Vanderbilt 240.6 YPG

Rushing defense: Kentucky 119.3 YPG > Vanderbilt 183.3 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Vanderbilt +0.7 > Kentucky +0.2

Summary:

Vanderbilt is (3-4) to start the season with wins over Middle Tennessee, Tennessee State, and Nevada.  They have been defeated by #8 Notre Dame, South Carolina, #2 Georgia, and #14 Florida.  Quarterback Kyle Shurmur has completed 58% of his passes for 1,629 yards with 11 touchdowns to 5 interceptions.  Vanderbilt’s playbook is limited because Shurmur is strictly a pocket passer.  Running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn has rushed for 495 yards and 5 touchdowns.  Kalijah Lipscomb leads the team in receiving with 560 yards to go along with 6 touchdowns.  The Commodores’ defense ranks 92^nd against the pass (240.6 YPG) and 95^th against the run (183.3 YPG).  Vanderbilt ranks 25^th out of the 130 teams in turnover margin (+0.8).

Kentucky is (5-1) to start the season with victories over Central Michigan, #15 Florida, Murray State, #14 Mississippi State, and South Carolina.  They had their five-game winning streak last week when they lost 20-14 in overtime against Texas A&M.  Quarterback Terry Wilson has completed 66% of his passes for 703 yards with 3 touchdowns to 5 interceptions.  For all his deficiencies in the passing game, Wilson is much more a threat on the ground rushing for 304 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Kentucky has arguably the best running back in the nation in Benny Snell Jr. who has rushed for 699 yards and 8 touchdowns.  The Wildcats’ defense ranks 23^rd against the pass (185.5 YPG) and 24^th against the run (119.3 YPG).

Bottom Line:

Kentucky is coming off their bye week and have had two weeks to prepare for a Vanderbilt team that has underperformed every single time they’ve played a superior opponent.  The Commodores will certainly have their hands full trying to stop Benny Snell Jr. and Kentucky’s dynamic rushing attack.  For all the attention Snell Jr. gets, Kentucky’s defense is for real and deserving of their top 10 ranking.

Kentucky wins 34-17

Contest Rules:

To be eligible to win a prize in any contest at The Crowd’s Line, you must be at least 18 years old and a resident of the United States or Canada. You must also submit your score prediction on our official prediction tool (blog widget), and include a valid email address. Contest winners are determined according to The Crowd’s Line scoring methodology. If more than one entrant has the same winning score, final contest rankings and prize winners are selected by random draw. Only one entry per person is allowed for each contest; multiple entries from a single player will be deemed invalid. There are no prize substitutions or exchanges available from The Crowd’s Line.

All prizes will be sent by e-mail within two weeks after the conclusion of each contest.