No. 12 Kentucky spent Saturday night taking control of the SEC race, stretching its winning streak and giving first-year head coach Will Stein a little extra value on the contract ledger in a 34-17 victory over Vanderbilt.
The result pushed the Wildcats to 7-1 overall and 5-1 in the Southeastern Conference, good for a half-game lead over Georgia, which was idle. South Carolina’s 27-24 comeback win over No.
11 Tennessee also helped Kentucky’s position, dropping the Volunteers a game back in the loss column. Ole Miss, the only other one-loss team in the league, was at Texas on Saturday night.
Kentucky will come out of its bye and head to Knoxville to play Tennessee on Saturday, Nov. 7.
The rest of the SEC slate still includes Florida on Nov. 14 and a trip to Missouri on Nov. 21.
Georgia still has Florida, Ole Miss, Missouri and South Carolina left. Ole Miss still has Auburn, Georgia, Oklahoma and Mississippi State remaining.
The win also marked Kentucky’s sixth straight since a 45-17 loss to Alabama in Week 2. In a program that dates to 1881, the Wildcats have only reached that kind of run nine times in a single season. The previous years on that list are 1898, 1903, 1910, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1977 and 2021, with UK’s 2021 total later vacated by the NCAA.
Kentucky’s 5-1 mark in league play is notable for another reason: it has already locked up a winning SEC record with three conference games still to go. Since joining the league in 1933, Kentucky has done that only 10 times. The other seasons were 1949, 1950, 1953, 1954, 1964, 1976, 1977, 2018 and 2021.
The defense had its rough stretches against Vanderbilt’s quick passing game. The Commodores converted 7 of 12 third downs, and freshman quarterback Jared Curtis went 27 of 36 for 247 yards and two touchdowns. But Kentucky’s defense still found a way to tilt the game late.
With 14 seconds left in the third quarter, Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace sacked Curtis and forced a fumble, and Tavion Gadson recovered at the Vanderbilt 17. Adam Zouagui finished that drive with a 32-yard field goal to make it 27-17.
Then, with 11:49 to play, Ty Bryant intercepted Curtis and brought it back to the Vandy 47. Kentucky quarterback Kenny Minchey punched in a 1-yard touchdown on the next possession to seal it.
The contract math worked out too. Stein will get a $100,000 bonus for Kentucky reaching seven wins in the 2026 season.
If the Wildcats keep stacking wins, he would earn $200,000 for each victory from No. 8 through No. 11.
Kentucky wore blue helmets, gray jerseys with blue letters and numbers, and gray pants for its eighth game of the 2026 season. Since the start of the 2015 season, it was only the third time the Wildcats have gone all-gray. UK is now 1-2 in those uniforms.
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White is still in the middle of his season, so his recruiting process will take a little more time to unfold. He plans to release his top schools once the season ends, with a commitment targeted for April, which means Kentucky will have to keep making its case as the race tightens. [Read more 🡒]