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    • SEC college football game results week 7
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    SEC college football game results week 7

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    LEXINGTON – On two separate occasions in the second quarter Saturday night, the officiating crew corrected errant calls whistled against Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandagriff.

    The first: Vanderbilt linebacker Bryce Cowan intercepted Vandagriff with less than nine minutes left in the half. Only he didn’t. When checked, the ball hit the ground first. Incomplete pass. Kentucky ball.

    The second: a bizarre play after two minutes in which the referees initially ruled. Vandagriff fumbled with the football, leading to a 25-yard scoop-and-score for – coincidentally enough – Cowan. After a quick review, where the replays clearly showed Vandagriff’s arm went forward with the ball, the TD was overturned. Incomplete pass. Kentucky ball.

    The Wildcats (3-3, 1-3 SEC) probably wish the officials could have saved them from other, less fruitful offensive play calls — ones that didn’t need to be overturned. No reviews were needed: they simply weren’t successful.

    Kentucky’s lack of pop cost it big on Saturday, as Vanderbilt walked away with a 20-13 win — the visitors’ second straight win at Kroger Field after their record-setting win in 2022.

    “We still have a long way to go. We know what it is,” said British offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan. “All we know to do is get back to work. I know no one wants to hear it. But that’s the reality of the situation every week at this conference.”

    The Wildcats’ meager point total was the fewest an FBS opponent has managed against the Commodores this season. Virginia Tech scored 27 points against Vandy (4-2, 2-1) in an overtime loss in Week 1. Missouri had 30 in a dual win over Vanderbilt last month. Alabama finished with 35 last week in their stunning loss in Nashville, Tennessee.

    Even Georgia State – a sub-500 club in a Group of Five (the Sun Belt Conference) – scored 36 over Vanderbilt in an upset victory on September 14 in Atlanta.

    The only team to score fewer points against Vandy in 2024: Alcorn State. From the FCS. That didn’t yield a single point in the 55-0 loss on September 7.

    Saturday continued a troubling trend for Hamdan’s unit. It marks the third time in six games that the Wildcats have scored 13 points or fewer, along with their losses to South Carolina (six) and Georgia (12).

    “Offense has to be better,” said Vandagriff, who completed 60% (15 of 25) of his attempts for 158 yards and a touchdown. ‘Starts with me. Starts at number 12.

    “I have to go out there, I have to make plays, I have to focus on the little things. … It’s going to take taking a deep look in the mirror for myself and being able to lead.”

    The most infuriating aspect of Saturday’s loss for the UK offense: It had 322 yards, 34 ahead of Vandy’s 288.

    The difference: The Commodores converted both of their chances in the red zone, while the Wildcats were 1 for 2.

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    That failure to capitalize on the other big scoring opportunity is what Kentucky coach Mark Stoops considered the turning point of the game. Late in the third quarter, Great Britain had a second goal less than a yard from the end zone. But then it committed a false starting penalty, moving back 5 meters. The Wildcats gained a yard (via a Vandagriff rush) on the next play before his pass sailed out of bounds on third-and-goal. With fourth and goal at the 5, a mishandled snap prevented superstar kicker Alex Raynor from attempting a chip shot, 22-yard field goal; assuming he punched in, Kentucky would have cut Vandy’s lead to seven (17-10).

    It wasn’t meant to be.

    “To have the ball on the half-yard line and come away with zero points?” Stoops said. “It comes down to discipline. … And I think if you’re a playcaller, it’s probably a fine line if we get it in – if you hammer it and pound it and get some good yards, you call the shots? Do you implement it?

    “If we could get that back again, we’d get under center and sneak the thing. We’ve been quite efficient with that.’

    Kentucky is now on the road for the second time this season.

    Great Britain travels to Gainesville, Florida, to play Florida on October 19 at 7:45 p.m. The game will be broadcast nationally on SEC Network.

    The Wildcats will enter Ben Hill Griffin Stadium looking for their fourth straight on-field victory over the Gators. (UK forfeited its 2021 win in Lexington due to NCAA violations.) Kentucky is on just one streak of four straight wins in the series. The Wildcats accomplished this feat from 1948 to 1951, under Hall of Fame coach Bear Bryant.

    Reach Kentucky basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.

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