Late in the week Cats Illustrated's keys to the game laid out several game themes to watch during the Wildcats' bid to knock Vandy off in Nashville.

Here's a look back at how those keys played out with the benefit of hindsight.

Don't let Ke'Shawn Vaughn beat you ... The best defense Kentucky had for Vaughn was a good offense. In rushing the ball more than 50 times and dominating time of possession for much of the game when Vaughn could have otherwise been a factor, the Wildcats minimized his potential impact on the game. During Vanderbilt's 8-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in the first quarter Vaughn had a five yard touchdown run. But aside from that, he was a marginal player in the game.

Rattle Riley Neal early ... Neal threw one interception later in the game but the Wildcats didn't have any sacks and they weren't putting a lot of hits on him. So it might not be right to say he was "rattled". Still, the Wildcats prevented Neal from sustaining an early rhythm after he drove the Commodores down the field for that second drive touchdown.

Finish drives ... Mission accomplished. UK had gone scoreless on eight of 27 red zone possessions going into the game (although the touchdown rate of 59-percent was acceptable). On Saturday the Wildcats reached the Vanderbilt red zone four times. They came away with points every single time: Three touchdowns, one field goal. In total, 24 points on four red zone possessions is something you take every time. There was the one touchdown pass from Lynn Bowden to Josh Ali that bounced off the defender's outstretched hand, but the UK running game dominance was the reason for Vandy's inability to stop the 'Cats deep into drives.

Avoid untimely penalties ... The Big Blue Nation probably let out a collective "here we go again" when Logan Stenberg was flagged for a personal foul on a long Kentucky run in the first half. The merits of that flag aside -- as it appeared Stenberg did nothing wrong -- the Wildcats went on to score a touchdown to cut Vandy's lead to 14-10 anyways. For the game Kentucky was flagged 11 times for 91 yards, but a lot of those were later in the game when it was out of hand or getting to be so. None of Kentucky's penalties caused the game to be in question.