Kentucky Wildcats vs Vanderbilt Commodores Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/23/2023

Game Time: 12:00 pm ET, Saturday, September 23, 2023

Venue:  FirstBank Stadium, Nashville, TN

Where to Watch:  SEC Network

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Kentucky -13.5, Vandy +13.5; Over/Under:  50.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Kentucky -13.5, Vandy +13.5; Over/Under:  50.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Kentucky -13.5, Vandy +13.5; Over/Under:  51.5 points

Kentucky Wildcats:  3-0 (0-0) (3rd place, SEC East)

Vanderbilt Commodores:  2-2 (0-0) (6th place, SEC East)

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Sean Murphy is on a HOT STREAK in CFB with a 13-6 start this season! Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

Kentucky Wildcats:  won their last game at home against the Akron Zips 35-3.

Vanderbilt Commodores:  lost their last game on the road against the UNLV Rebels 40-37.

Kentucky is entering this game with a 3-0 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too.  They are 3-0 in their home games, 0-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They won their last game against Akron 35-3. Devin Leary was the starting QB and he completed 16/26 passes for 315 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Re'Mahn Davis led the team in rushing yards with 72 and 1 TD. Re'Mahn Davis led the receivers with 97 receiving yards on 3 receptions and 1 TD. Maxwell Hairston led the defense in that game with 5 solo tackles and 2 assisted tackles while Trevin Wallace led the defense in sacks with 2. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that game.

 

 

 

Vanderbilt is entering this game with a 2-2 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too.  They are 2-0 in their home games, 0-2 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They lost their last game against UNLV 40-37. AJ Swann was the starting QB and he completed 16/35 passes for 296 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Patrick Smith led the team in rushing yards with 43. London Humphreys led the receivers with 102 receiving yards on 3 receptions and 1 TD. Trudell Berry led the defense in that game with 6 solo tackles and 3 assisted tackles while Bakary Diakité and Miles Capers each led the defense in sacks with 1. Martel Hight and Nicolás Rinaldi each came away with 1 interception for them in that game.

The current betting odds have Vanderbilt listed as a 13.5 point underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Vanderbilt hasn't looked great in their games this season with 2 home wins and 2 road losses but they are going to be at home here where they have been a better team and they will have some fire in them too with this being the start of their conference schedule at home. Kentucky has looked really good in their 3 games this season but they haven't really played any tough teams this year and all 3 of those games were also at home. Now they are playing their 1st road game of the season which is also their 1st conference game and they are going to struggle more in this game. Kentucky has a good defense that is going to get stops in this game but they don't have a strong offense and they will struggle themselves to move the ball on the road here with Vandy throwing everything they have at them. Kentucky is also looking for revenge from last year so they are going to win this game but this spread is too big for them as Vanderbilt will keep this game closer at home. The best way to place a bet here is on Vanderbilt to cover the spread in this game.

Kentucky Vanderbilt Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 23, 2023 (12:00 pm ET start time) is Kentucky 31 Vanderbilt 20.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert football picks today. And if you enjoyed this Kentucky Wildcats Vanderbilt Commodores prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NCAAF predictions and previews.

Kentucky Wildcats: 18-10 ATS in all games. 11-6 ATS after playing a game at home. 5-1 ATS after 3 or more consecutive straight up wins. 12-4 UNDER against conference opponents. 8-2 UNDER off 2 or more consecutive unders.

Vanderbilt Commodores: 3-12 ATS in home games. 3-10 ATS off 1 or more straight overs. 2-9 ATS after playing a non-conference game. 96-64 UNDER against conference opponents. 8-2 UNDER after 4 or more consecutive losses against the spread.

Kentucky Wildcats:  J. Wilcox (RB) day-to-day - Hamstring. L. Wright (RB) day-to-day - Undisclosed. K. Horsey (OL) Out indefinitely - Leg. N. Hall (OL) out for season - Undisclosed. B. Christman (OL) out for season - Undisclosed.

Vanderbilt Commodores:  J. Palmer (TE) day-to-day - Back. S. Riley (S) day-to-day - Undisclosed. C. Spence (TE) out for season - Knee.

“Appreciate the way the defense played all night. There's a lot of frustration offensively. (It's a) broken record, but you can’t have both, (bad) snaps, holds. You can’t fumble going in the end zone. You have a chance to easily put up, 40 to 49 (points).” - Mark Stoops after his team’s win against Akron in their last game.

“I don't believe that our side deserved to win tonight. I don't believe that we played to a level that would've allowed us to win that game.” - Clark Lea after his team’s loss against UNLV in their last game. 

WR Key, Dane 

WR Brown, Barion 

WR Robinson, Tayvion 

TE Dingle, Jordan 

TE Bates, Brenden 

QB Leary, Devin 

RB Davis, Ray 

WR Sheppard, Will 

WR Skinner Jr., Quincy 

WR McGowan, Jayden 

TE Ball, Justin

TE Kyle, Logan 

QB Swann, AJ 

RB Smith, Patrick

Passing: D. Leary (855)

Rushing: R. Davis (236)

Receiving: T. Robinson (260)

Touchdowns: R. Davis (5) 

Passing: A. Swann (1062)

Rushing: P. Smith (200)

Receiving: W. Sheppard (314)

Touchdowns: W. Sheppard (6)

Coaches:

Kentucky Wildcats: Mark Stoops (11th season)

Vanderbilt Commodores: Clark Lea (3rd season)