JUSTIN ROWLAND:

We saw some really good things from the offense today. Terry Wilson played as well as a Kentucky quarterback did all season. He was on point with most of his throws especially early in the game and had some timely explosive runs to keep the 'Dores at arm's length for most of the game. The receivers had a solid performance and the tight ends in the passing game are looking really promising. Of course, it was Vanderbilt, so is this Kentucky offense really all that different from the one that scored three points against UGA two weeks ago? Probably not. But I'm trying to look at the big picture for this season here. Kentucky came into this game 2-4 and I think most people would have accepted 4-6 as a bit of a disappointment but understandable. They are one step closer to that and need to win another to get there. The problem today was the defense. It was very uninspiring. They weren't creating negative yardage plays and seemed to be on their heels for most of the game. I've had a sneaking suspicion that this defense is just okay and has done a good job of limiting big plays and avoiding the worst outcomes most of the time, and it's starting to look like that. They were a disappointment today.

JEFF DRUMMOND:

The most important thing for Kentucky today was to come out and play in a way that honored offensive line coach John Schlarman, who passed away on Thursday morning after a two-year battle with Stage 4 cancer. The Wildcats did that on the offensive side of the ball, jumping on top of Vanderbilt 14-0 in the first quarter and keeping the pressure on the Commodores all day long. It was nice to see Terry Wilson play well in his return as starting quarterback, passing for two touchdowns and rushing for another. A 17-point lead midway through the fourth quarter also gave Mark Stoops a chance to finally get freshman quarterback Beau Allen on the field for a series, and he showed glimpses of his potential with a couple of nice completions. Unfortunately, this was one of the shakiest defensive performances in recent memory for a Stoops squad, allowing more than 400 yards of offense and five touchdowns to a Vandy team that entered the game among the worst scoring offenses in the country at 12.8 points per game. The UK defense didn't bring the same type of focus and intensity to the field that the offense did, and that meant the Cats had to recover an onside kick with 30 seconds left to preserve a W in a game where they were 18-point favorites. The defense has to find some answers quickly as one of the best offenses in the country, Alabama (47.2 ppg), awaits next week.