Vanderbilt has thrived against Kentucky lately, and Will Stein is reminding his players of this

Kentucky has been one of the stories of the 2026 college football season so far, sitting at 6-1 with two top-10 wins and three road wins already.

Last weekend, Kentucky traveled to Norman, Oklahoma, and stunned the Oklahoma Sooners as a touchdown underdog. Will Stein and this team have already exceeded expectations, but Stein has said numerous times that it’s “any given week” in this conference, and that the SEC is the closest thing to the NFL. 

Next up for the Wildcats is the Vanderbilt Commodores, and it seems like a perfect letdown spot after the win over Oklahoma, with a bye week awaiting the team next week.

Stein will do his best to make sure that isn’t the case, though. 

“Vanderbilt, I think it’s a really good football team. I don’t think any of us in this room or this organization needs to be fooled by any type of record,” Stein said this week. “Last time I checked, they embarrassed Kentucky last year.”

That game he’s referring to was a 45-17 loss to Vanderbilt in Mark Stoops’ second-to-last game as the head coach of Kentucky, a game we all wish we could forget. That game was Diego Pavia’s senior night at Vanderbilt, the final home game of what felt like a 43-year collegiate career. Pavia would finish the game going 33 for 39 on passes with 484 yards and five touchdowns. 

That game last year was Kentucky’s worst loss to Vanderbilt since 2012 when Joker Phillips was fired after losing 40-0 to the Dores. Clark Lea, the head coach of the Commodores, has a winning record against Kentucky since arriving there in December of 2020. Lea has a 3-2 record against Kentucky, though the Wildcats’ 2021 win in Nashville was later vacated.

Additionally, Vanderbilt has won two straight at Kroger Field and three of the last four meetings overall. Kentucky has not won at home vs. Vandy since the COVID-19 season in 2020.

And after their win at Kentucky in 2024, several Commodore players were seen stomping on the UK logo at midfield.

Stein said he believes Lea is “extremely intelligent, really tough, and one of the best head coaches in the country.”

I think it’s safe to say that Stein isn’t letting his team eat the rat poison, even with the Cats being a double-digit favorite in Saturday’s contest. 

With the game already announced as a sellout, Stein is asking Big Blue Nation to show up and bring their A-game.

“I’d like to challenge our fans here at Kroger Field to exceed expectations from the last matchup. I thought we had an unbelievable crowd here at home against LSU,” Stein said. “They set the standard. Now it’s time to exceed that standard and be even better.”

The theme for the game is a Blue Out, so if you’re going to be a part of that sold-out crowd: Wear blue, and bring your best version of yourself for this team for one last game before the bye week.