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Mark Stoops jokes about not having to ‘sell’ Vanderbilt anymore after Alabama upset
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Mark Stoops saw what everyone else in the college football orbit saw last Saturday.
He saw Vanderbilt get its best win in maybe ever, as the Commodores knocked off No. 1 Alabama, 40-35, setting off a wild celebration in Nashville complete with the goal posts being carried into a nearby river. So, when Vandy turns around and comes to Lexington for a primetime showdown this Saturday night, Stoops no longer has to convince his players and media that the Commodores are for real.
Or, he shouldn’t have to, for anybody with 2 eyes.
“Coming into this press conference, I don’t have to worry about selling Vanderbilt anymore and my respect for (Vanderbilt head coach) Clark Lea and what he’s been building there for some time,” said Stoops during his weekly Monday press conference.
Kentucky Wildcats HC Mark Stoops: Coming into this press conference, I don’t have to worry about selling Vanderbilt anymore and my respect for Clark Lea and what he’s been building there for some time.
— Jeff Drummond (@JDrumUK) October 7, 2024
Stoops’ team will have to deal with Vandy as a team, but the Wildcats will specifically have their hands full with Commodores senior quarterback Diego Pavia, who has thrown for 973 yards and 8 touchdowns with 0 interceptions in 5 games while rushing for 335 yards and 2 TDs on the ground.
Stoops called Pavia a “tremendous player.”
“(He’s) seeing things at a very high level,” said Stoops. “Vandy is using some stuff you don’t see a whole lot. Unbalanced sets. Shifts and motions. They do a good job of keeping you unbalanced. They keep you on your toes.”
Stoops says Vandy QB Diego Pavia is a tremendous player. Seeing things at a very high level. Vandy is using some stuff you don’t see a whole lot. Unbalanced sets. Shifts and motions. They do a good job of keeping you unbalanced. “They keep you on your toes.”
— Jeff Drummond (@JDrumUK) October 7, 2024
Kentucky and Vandy will kick it off at 7:45 p.m. ET on SEC Network, with both teams trying to get to 4-2. The Commodores will be looking to avoid a letdown after the thrilling Alabama upset, while the Wildcats will try to keep their momentum going after an upset of their own at Ole Miss that preceded a bye week.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
