You're telling me that Vandy limped up to Lexington without A.J. Swann, without three offensive line starters, with flu having ravaged the team and coaches this week, had to play No. 24-ranked Wildcats (who had beaten us six times in a row and had won ten games last year) before a hostile crowd, in the mid-November cold and freezing rain? And they WON the dang game?!? And had to come from behind in the fourth quarter to do it?
Mine eyes have witnessed it, and I swear it on Rupp Arena: the Commodores gave Clark Lea his first SEC victory!!! The win snapped an SEC losing streak (that was starting to get entirely out of hand) and carries enormous significance for the program. (If Vandy had finished a second straight season under Lea without an SEC win, discontent would have started to swirl. But Lea has now doubled Team One's win total, and now that the horrid streak is history, the monkey is off his back. For this offseason, at least.)
So, how the heck did they do it? For starters, the defense bent but did not break for most of the game, holding UK mostly to field goals, until UK's go-ahead possession in the fourth quarter. They got good pressure on turf-toe-hampered Will Levis (probably a first-round pick next year) and held him to 109 yards passing. They blocked a field goal attempt, which turned out to be huge, and they stymied UK twice on 2-point conversions, also huge. When they finally did give up the one explosive play to Chris Rodriguez, everyone thought, that's it, Vandy will fold. (I might or might not have thought that!) But I will say this-- at least they surrendered that easy TD with plenty of time to respond, five minutes.
And respond, Vandy's offense did. Ray Davis had been having a good day on the ground, and Mike Wright had been keeping UK's D off-balance with his running and throwing. The Cats bailed Vandy out with a hands-to-the-face penalty on fourth down that nullified a game-ending Wright INT. With Vandy trailing by 4, somehow Wright connected with Quincy Skinner on a bomb that set up the winning play-- a third-down pass over the middle to Will Sheppard, who was mysteriously only single-covered. Vandy still had to stop UK, but the defense came up big again with a Christian James sack and a C.J. Taylor interception. Euphoria!
Wright, forced back into the starter's role, was brilliant at times and accurate enough as a passer to keep Vandy in it. His pass to Skinner, and the game-winner zipped to Sheppard, momentarily silenced any critics. He showed great moxie in leading Vandy on a game-winning drive. Oh yeah, he also had 126 yards rushing. It was a performance that measured up to his dynamic personality, which all Vandy fans already loved.
Oh yes, it was ugly, and some may try to downplay the win. UK was missing two LB starters; its offensive line is not up to SEC standards; and Levis was not himself. UK's penalty bailed us out. Other SEC East programs will look at this result and snicker. But none of that will tarnish this win. Vandy overcame injuries, bad calls, doubters, its perennial nemesis Rodriguez, and some demons of its own in finally putting the SEC streak to an end. The last time I saw this kind of unbridled emotion in a Vandy locker room was 2003-- when coincidentally Vandy beat Kentucky at home to end another awful SEC losing streak. Clark Lea, by the way, played in that game.
Back in the 1990's, Vanderbilt always had to finish the season against East powerhouses Florida and Tennessee; and that's what the schedule has handed us this year. That's two really tough games left, but Vandy will be playing with house money. And hey, Florida lost by ten points at home earlier this season to this same team we beat today.
