Kentucky Wildcats vs Vanderbilt Commodores Prediction, 9/23/2023 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kentucky Wildcats vs Vanderbilt Commodores

Date: Saturday, September 23, 2023

Location: FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, TN

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: Commodores (+12)

Total/Over-Under: 50.5

FirstBank Stadium is the site where the Vanderbilt Commodores (2-2) will attempt to beat the Kentucky Wildcats (3-0) on Saturday, September 23, 2023. Kentucky opens this matchup as 12-point favorites from Vegas oddsmakers. The over/under is 50.5.

The Kentucky Wildcats head into this matchup 3-0 for this season. In their last matchup, the Wildcats took on the Akron Zips and earned the victory with a final of 35-3. Devin Leary connected on 16/25 with 315 yards passing and 3 TDs. He had a quarterback rating of 201.4 and finished the contest with 1 interception. Re'Mahn Davis was the leader on the ground for the Wildcats with 7 attempts for 72 yards (10.3 yds per carry). In all, they had 48 plays which gave them 454 yds. The Kentucky Wildcats ended up running the ball 22 different times and accumulated 139 yards, which came out to an average of 6.3 yards per tote. On the ground, the Wildcats gave up 49 yds on 25 attempts, which is 2.0 yards per rush surrendered. Kentucky surrendered 29 pass completions on 41 attempts for 190 yds, and a completion percentage of 70.7%.

The Wildcats have tallied 1,225 total yards for the year. In terms of getting the ball in the endzone, Kentucky has compiled 8 passing touchdowns and 4 rushing touchdowns. They have turned the football over 5 times. Kentucky has accounted for 57 1st downs as an offense, and they have been called for 22 penalties for 166 yds. As a team they maintain an average of 123.3 yards on the ground ranking this team at 101st in Division 1. When talking about scoring, the Kentucky Wildcats have an average of 35.7 PPG.

When talking about yards through the air, the Wildcats are conceding 632 yards which ranks them 64th in D-1. They have surrendered 210.7 yards per game through the air as well as allowing a completion percentage of 70.0%. In total, they have relinquished 281.7 yards per contest which has them ranked 27th in D-1. They have yielded 2 touchdowns through the air as well as 2 touchdowns on the ground. They are allowing teams to run for an average of 2.3 yards per attempt on the ground and 71.0 rushing yards per game for the campaign. For the year, they have conceded 213 rushing yards through 3 outings. The Wildcats are sitting in 12th in college football concerning team defense, allowing 11.3 points per game.

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The Commodores head into this matchup 2-2 for this season. For their last game, the Commodores took a loss by a score of 40-37 when they faced the UNLV Runnin' Rebels. AJ Swann (3 TDs) ended the contest with 335 yds on 17/35 passing while his quarterback rate was 151.5. He had 1 interception and his average yards per attempt was 9.6. Patrick Smith ran the football 13 times for 43 yds, walking away from the contest with 3.3 yards per carry for Vanderbilt. The Commodores finished with a total of 420 yds while running 75 plays (5.6 yds per play). Vanderbilt ran for 2.2 yards per carry, finishing the game with 83 yards on 38 attempts. Vanderbilt surrendered 40 rush attempts for 127 yards (3.2 yards per rush). The Commodores pass defense gave up a completion rate of 56.8%, relinquishing 276 yards on 21 for 37 passing.

In relation to their scoring prowess, the Commodores rank 44th in the country averaging 34.8 points per game. The Vanderbilt Commodores average 400.3 yards per outing, which is good for 63rd in the nation. The Vanderbilt offense has racked up 164 yds of penalties on 18 infractions, ranking them 56th in Division 1 in terms of giving up free yards. They have given away 4 interceptions while conceding 4 fumbles and they have been able to obtain 83 1st downs. During this campaign so far, the Commodores have racked up 1,155 yards through the air as well as holding an average of 288.8 passing yards per contest, which ranks 28th in the nation. They average 111.5 yards per game via the rush and have rushed for 446 yards overall.

The Commodores are conceding 29.3 PPG, which has them ranked 101st in Division 1. Vanderbilt has yielded a total of 590 yards on the ground (147.5 yards/game) and 4 touchdowns via the rush this year. Overall, they have surrendered 117 points in total. They have surrendered 7 touchdowns from the passing game in addition to 241.5 yards/outing, ranking them 96th in college football. The Commodores defense has taken the field for 278 plays, which ranks them 130th in college football. Their defense has totaled 1 fumble recovered and 5 picks on the campaign.

Who will win tonight's Wildcats/Commodores college football game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the Wildcats -12

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