CatsPause.com - Cats ride Cobb, Locke to 24-13 win over Vandy

November 14, 2009

Matt May
CatsPause.com Senior Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - It took a half of football but the Kentucky football team is now bowl eligible after finally saddling up its two best players with the season on the line.

The Cats (6-4, 2-4) rode Randall Cobb and Derrick Locke to a come-from-behind 24-13 victory in front of a heavily blue crowd of 33,675 at Vanderbilt Stadium, erasing a 13-10 halftime deficit on the way. The victory made UK bowl eligible for the fourth consecutive time, the only time in the program's history it has accomplished that feat.

"It is a huge step and you can't downplay that in my mind because it's never happened," UK coach Rich Brooks said. "But at the same token we're not happy with where we are at this stage. We had a close one get away at South Carolina and we didn't play as well as we're capable against Mississippi State. We'd be looking a lot better right now if we had won one of those. Those were very tough losses but I'm proud of how the team has bounced back. Now we just want to climb the ladder a little higher."

After meandering through a first half of mistakes and missed opportunities the coaching staff made the decision at halftime to keep the ball primarily on the ground and pound the Vanderbilt defense with heavy doses of Cobb and Locke. Having sat out last week's game against Eastern Kentucky the duo looked fresh with Locke racking up 144 yards and Cobb netting two rushing touchdowns.

Aided by a defense that yielded just 31 yards over the final 30 minutes, UK marched to a pair of scoring drives of more than 70 yards to exert its will on the Commodores and outgained Vanderbilt 225-30 after halftime.

It may have taken a half too long but it was exactly what the Cats needed to do in order to put themselves in position to spend the holidays playing football.

"The last 30 minutes was some of the best football we've played in a long time," Brooks said. "Defensively we just didn't give them hardly anything and certainly the offense ran the ball very well and then threw it and converted when we had to.

"I said a lot at halftime but not as much as I said at halftime of the Liberty Bowl. We knew we had to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and we pretty much did that. I think the second half (the offensive line) was much better."

The Cats jumped out to a lead on a rare instance of trickery from the coaching staff. Derrick Locke took a motion handoff from Randall Cobb in the 'Wildcat' formation and raced right before pulling up and heaving a well-thrown pass downfield to quarterback Morgan Newton, who had lined up as a receiver. The 41-yard gain set up Cobb's 21-yard jaunt in the same formation a play later to give UK a 7-0 lead.

UK couldn't seem to get out of its own way in the first half, with both Mike Hartline and Newton throwing interceptions on tipped passes. Both came on third down after the Cats originally lined up in the 'Wildcat' but bailed after Hartline lined up wrong on the first instance and Stuart Hines was called for a false start on the second. The second interception gave Vanderbilt the ball at the UK 20-yard line late in the half and Kentucky native John Cole beat All-American cornerback Trevard Lindley for a 21-yard touchdown on 3rd-and-11 to give Vanderbilt a 13-10 lead at the half.

"I told the defense we had to shut them out, pure and simple," Brooks said. "We had two turnovers and had given up 10 points off them in the first half and we couldn't give them anymore. I was pretty upset at halftime that we were behind as much because of our mistakes as their good play. I just told the defense we couldn't give them anything. Our guys turned the dial up and knew our season was on the line in the last 30 minutes."

The Cats regrouped at halftime and came out with a simplified approach after the break, running the ball 20 times in the third quarter to just one pass attempt. The first possession produced a 75-yard march that ended in a three-yard score by Cobb. After holding Vanderbilt to a three-and-out the Cats were on the move again before stalling out at the Vanderbilt 43-yard line. Still, the Cats outgained the Commodores 118-4 in the quarter and maintained control of the line of scrimmage.

The final blow came when Newton found emerging freshman receiver La'Rod King for a 28-yard strike on 3rd-and-6, setting up Locke's 14-yard scamper for a score two plays later. The second 70-plus yard drive put the Cats up two scores and effectively turned the lights out on the 'Dores. It also left the Cats with smiles all around.

"It's significant. We wont be satisfied with a 6-6 finish but we've taken one step from the bottom of the SEC to the middle of the pack and now we've got to build toward the top," senior defensive tackle Corey Peters said.

The climb may be a bit easier as long as Locke and Cobb are around.

Matt May is the football beat reporter for The Cats' Pause. If you have questions or comments about the Cats e-mail him here.

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