NASHVILLE — Maxwell Hairston returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns to help the Kentucky Wildcats notch a 45-28 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores to open up Southeastern Conference play on Saturday afternoon.
Hairston's interception returns of 29 and 54-yards helped jumpstart the Wildcats to a big lead and then seal the win on Saturday.
“Getting off to a fast start on the road for an 11 o'clock kickoff was something of importance for us, and we stressed that and it was great to see,” Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops said.
Kentucky (4-0, 1-0 SEC) got 78 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns from Vanderbilt transfer Ray Davis. Quarterback Devin Leary completed 15 of 29 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions.
Barion Brown caught four passes for 105 yards to lead Kentucky receivers.
Defensively, Octavious Oxendine led Kentucky with six tackles and Andru Phillips had five.
After a forcing the Commodores to punt, the Wildcats began at their own 17. Kentucky was able to move quickly into Vandy territory, as Leary connected with both Dane Key and Barion Brown for first downs. Then JuTahn McClain took a handoff up the middle and bolted his way 36-yards into the end zone. Alex Raynor added the extra point to give Kentucky a 7-0 lead with 9:51 left in the opening quarter.
On Vanderbilt’s ensuing drive, quarterback AJ Swann would find himself under pressure from Trevin Wallace and JJ Weaver. While trying avoid a sack, he targeted his receiver London Humphreys, but Hairston would step in front of the pass for the interception and return it 29 yards for the touchdown. Raynor's point after gave Kentucky a 14-0 lead.
The Wildcats would score one more time in the opening frame, as Leary set up the next score by connected with Brown for 56 yards to get Kentucky to the Vandy two yard line.
Two plays later, Davis would score and Raynor would convert the extra point to make it 21-0 with 1:56 left in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Kentucky would put together a long, time-consuming drive, that used 13 plays to cover 74 yards, and take 6:25 off the clock. However, the drive would end with just a field goal as Raynor's 27-yard kick would split the sticks to increase Kentucky's lead to 24-0 with 4:53 to play in the half.
Vanderbilt (2-3, 0-1) would rally to chip away Kentucky's lead. Jacob Borcila would convert a 41-yard field goal on Vandy's ensuing possession to make it 24-3 with 2:51 left in the half.
Then after a Kentucky punt on its next possession, Vandy would finally make it into the end zone with 20 seconds left in the half, as Sedrick Alexander scored on a seven-yard run. Borcila's extra point cut the deficit to 24-10 as the teams went into halftime.
In the third quarter, Vanderbilt's Jeffrey Ugochukwu would intercept and set the Commodores up at the UK 16.
But Kentucky's defense would stand tall and hold Vandy to a 32-yard Borcila field goal. However, Kentucky's lead had now shrunk to 24-13 with 11:25 left in the third quarter.
Later in the third, Swann would be intercepted a second time. This time by linebacker D’Eryk Jackson, who lateralled the ball to defense back Andru Phillips, and who took it back to the Vandy 21 yard line.
Four plays later, Davis reached the end zone on a one-yard rush, for his second touchdown of the day. Raynor added the extra point and Kentucky grabbed a 31-13 advantage with 6:44 remaining in the third.
Early in the fourth quarter, Kentucky was deep in its own territory before Davis broke off a 38-yard run to get UK near midfield. Later in the drive, the Cats got on the board again when Leary connected with Key on a fade pattern in the left corner of the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown. Raynor added the PAT and Kentucky led 38-13 with 10:35 left in the game.
Vanderbilt would answer with a scoring drive of its own, driving 66 yards in just seven plays, ending with a two-yard touchdown run by Patrick Smith. Swann would hit Quincy Skinner for the two-point conversion, and Kentucky would hold a38-21 lead with 8:00 to play.
The Commodores would get the ball back after a Kentucky punt, looking to mount a last-minute comeback, but Hairston would do it again. He would intercept a pass by Swann at the UK 46 and return it 54 yards for his second score of the day. Raynor added the point after and Kentucky led 45-21 with 4:15 to play.
Vanderbilt would add a late touchdown in the final minute to make the final score 45-28.
Kentucky will return home next Saturday and face the Florida Gators at Kroger Field. Kickoff is set for noon ET. The game will be televised on either ESPN or the SEC Network.
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