Although the final score may not have suggested it, Kentucky checked an item off its wish list Saturday in a 38-35 win over Vanderbilt.

The Wildcats built a 17-point lead midway through the fourth quarter at Kroger Field, allowing the UK staff to get its first official look at highly regarded freshman quarterback Beau Allen.

Allen, a homegrown product from Lexington Catholic High School, played one series against the Commodores, completing three of five passes for 40 yards. It was only a sneak peek at his talent, but UK fans and his coaches alike came away impressed.

"I put Beau in at that time because it's hard to get opportunities throughout this season to get guys reps," Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops said. "I think both Joey (Gatewood) and Beau deserved opportunities, so I put Beau in there, and I thought he looked very comfortable. It was good to get his feet wet and get him some reps.

"We could have gone into four-minute mode and tried to kill the clock, but I felt like it was important to give Beau (Allen) some reps, throw the football and try to get better. There aren’t many SEC games where we have that type of lead, where we can try to improve upon ourselves."

The passing attack has been a source of frustration for the Cats this season. They currently rank 116th out of 126 Division I programs at just 123 yards through the air per game.

Kentucky has just six passing touchdowns in seven games this season, two of them coming on Saturday against Vanderbilt. By contrast, Florida, who the Cats will play in two weeks, has 29 to lead the nation. This week's opponent, Alabama, has 16 with former UK quarterback commitment Mac Jones spearheading the Crimson Tide attack.

With senior quarterback Terry Wilson set to depart after the season, Allen expects to battle Gatewood, a transfer from Auburn, for the starting job in 2021.

Kentucky offensive coordinator Eddie Gran said he displayed some traits on Saturday that should serve him well in that competition.

"It was great for Beau," Gran said. "Everybody wanted to get him in. I want to try to get him in every week, so we had the opportunity, and what I liked about it was his poise, and I loved how he went through his reads very quickly, got rid of the ball.

"He had one batted down and one he wished he had back where he underthrew it a little bit, but for his first time out there, boy, I liked his poise, and he knew exactly where to go with the ball. That was good for him, good for our football team. I was fired up for him. He was really excited."

Allen, whose father, Bill, played for the Cats from 1984-88, was a four-star prospect out of Lexington Catholic in the Class of 2020. After passing for 11,439 yards and 127 touchdowns during his career with the Knights, he chose the Cats over programs like Georgia, West Virginia, Washington State and Duke.

He enrolled early at UK in January to get a head start on his college career and participate in spring practice, but the Covid-19 pandemic wiped out all but five of those workouts at UK.