Nashville, TN – Vanderbilt Commodores QB Diego Pavis passed for 484 yards and five TD passes. His No. 12 Commodores charged out to a 45-3 lead over Kentucky at the end of three periods. He also added 48 yards and a TD on 15 carries. At the end of the third, Vandy totaled over 500 yards of offense with Pavia leading the attack.
The tough Commodore defense held the Wildcats to less than 100 yards of total offense to that point. With one game remaining against No. 18, archrival Tennessee (8-3, 5-3), No. 12 Vandy remains in the hunt for a spot in the College Football Playoff (CFP).
All of Music City is fired up for the Commodores
With Country Music recording star Dierks Bentley participating in the pregame VU “Anchor Down” ceremony donning a Pavia “2” jersey, the Dores showed appreciation for Nashville’s support right away. In front of a 35,000-seat sell-out, the defense forced a quick three-and-out on the Wildcats. Next, the Commodores put three up on the board with Brock Taylor’s 39-yard filed goal. These first two series consumed almost every second of the first period. After that, Pavia led his team to six touchdowns over their next eight possessions.
Two out of three ain’t bad
On two of the next three Commodore series, Pavia connected with WR Tre Richardson. For the first, Richardson made a 17-yard over the shoulder catch to go up, 10-0. A sack of UK QB Cutter Boley by S Marlen Sewell and LB Nick Rinaldi put Kentucky back on their nine to punt. The Commodores started their next drive from the 40. This time, Pavia connected on a swing pass with Richardson on the left. He scored on a 10-yard pass to increase the lead, 17-0.
Only time UK found the other side of the 50 until Q4
Kentucky took advantage of a mishandled snap on a Vanderbilt “wildcat” play on fourth and one. The visitors possession at the Vanderbilt 30. With 1:04 left in the first half, the best Kentucky could come away with was on a 47-yard FG by Jacob Kauwe.
Not to waste the time remaining, HC Clark Lea looked to make a statement in this game. He got one. Three plays later, once again Pavia placed a pass on Richardson’s hip on a fly pattern from 56 yards. It extended the VU lead before halftime, 24-3. To avert any UK retaliation, Martel Hight picked off a Boley pass to thwart any chance for a Wildcat score. At the break, the Commodores led the Wildcats in total offense, 303 yards to 81. Would the rout continue?
Unusual surprises for Nashville visitors
Prior to the game, Guest Game Analyst Greg Kopazna and I went to The Local, an establishment found not too far from First Bank Stadium. First time revisited since first time here seven years ago. Without a parking space to tailgate nearby, we sought other options to eat and drink for our pre-game fest. Like the first game ever attended here against South Carolina, the majority of the visiting fans packed the bar. Many Wildcat fans proceeded ahead of us to the address we walked to. Outside seating hosted primarily hungry fans wearing royal blue and white. It seems to be a location well knowns by visitors from other schools. They have probably frequented this place for years after years of victories.
It hales a short walk to the stadium. Unlike previous seasons, however, the visiting team fans have learned that this spot no longer launches their team on to easily won victory parties to be celebrated later in down on Broadway. Later, the Kentucky Wildcat fans found little to cheer about in recently refurbished First Bank Stadium.
2025 Commodores sweep up in Nashville
This season became the first since 1982 when the Commodores won every home game. This victory established a new mark at 7-0. Since 1945, today Vanderbilt recorded only its fourth undefeated season at home. With such success, maybe more Dore’s fans will be frequenting and filling The Local with their team’s improvement. It beckons to us locals as a place that we’ll have to try out during the offseason. Could be another venue to enjoy the nightly music scene in Nashville.
A ”perfect” third quarter for Commodores
The Commodores remained relentless in the third period. No team can do any better than this. They scored touchdowns on all three possessions. The defense ousted the Kentucky offense with three-and-outs both times they had the ball. Commodore scores came on drives of 75 yards (twice) and 69 yards. The first TD resulted with Pavia’s seven-yard pass to WR Junior Sherrill. Next came on a six-yard run by Pavia. Lastly, a 32-yard pass came on a leaping grab. With arms extended by WR Richie Hoskins at the goal Iine, he scored with a defender grabbing his arms.
Commodore QB of the future?
In the fourth, Pavia started the next series to break the Vanderbilt record for 484 passing yards. He exited the game to the cheers of the Vanderbilt faithful. Junior Blaze Berlowitz replaced him. He completed four of five passes for 55 yards and picked up eight yards on two carries. Will he be the replacement for Pavia next season? He looks promising based on the little bit we watched him perform.
Closing out the victory
Kentucky scored twice to close out the scoring and pad some stats as Clark Lea substituted non-starters for the balance of the game. Smart move with the opportunity facing the Commodores next week when they head to Knoxville. The stands of Neyland Stadium filled with Orange-clad Volunteers fans will be fired up for this one. Will the Commodores leave unscathed for CFP consideration?
Week Fourteen – Big Games and CFF game to yet be determined
Vanderbilt at UT as mentioned for pride, bowl games and a possible CFP bid. Kentucky takes their 5-6, 2-6 record to face traditional rival Louisville, 7-4, at the Cardinals’ L&N Stadium. The Cardinals enter this rivalry on a 3-game losing streak. They come off a 38-6 loss to SMU. Can the Wildcats continue the trend to gain a bowl bid of their own with a sixth win?
As for collegefootballfan.com, we’ve decided to forgo Rice at South Florida since the game provides no real interest regarding the post season coming up. We may consider going to the Florida vs. Florda State game in Gainesville since we’ll be spending Thanksgiving in the Sunshine State. Catch up with us here in a few days. We still have one regular season game on our slate – Army vs. Navy on December 13.
CFF plans underway all the way through January 19, 2026
Before and after Army-Navy, we have plans to be finalized for other playoffs at all Division levels. Several CFP opportunities we’ve committed to already – the Capital One Orange Bowl CFP on January 1 and the CFP National Championship game on January 19. Finally, we’re in!
Still kicking around some other options not knowing exact teams, times and places, but we’re piecing together the best of what we can and would like to see. At best, we will offer our tentative plans subject to change as certain opportunities come and go. Check us out here on Thanksgiving Day after enjoying your turkey, stuffing, desserts and whatever football you plan to watch on TV that day (for us: Navy at Memphis in the evening for sure, among other traditional games college and pro). Hope to be attending some entertaining game next Saturday. Two games penciled in for the following weekend on December 5-6: the ConferenceUSA championship supposedly in Jacksonville, Alabama. Next day, a D3 or FCS game, either will probably be played in Georgia. After Army-Navy, we’ll be flexible to roll with the brackets and select bowl committees.
Check out all FBS team histories including Vanderbilt. Read all about them!!
Click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Among 731 college games attended to date, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person at least once. This tells our story! Read the reviews on the book page and get your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. You’ll see we know what we’re talking about.
In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Based on our game story above, this fun, unique life-long Journey continues. Catch up on the last 45 years, and then please submit a review. We hope you will get a “kick” out of our great adventure over the years! Who else can say that? Continue to come back and follow our current and future adventures. Bowls and play-off games lie ahead for the rest of this season. Thanks for checking this out!
