After Vanderbilt nearly stunned No. 11 Florida last week, it’s no surprise to see Kentucky coach Mark Stoops taking the Commodores seriously.

Stoops previewed his team’s game against Vanderbilt during Wednesday’s SEC Coaches Teleconference, praising Derek Mason’s squad as a “hungry team.” The Commodores built a huge lead before letting it slip away against the Gators last Saturday, and earlier this season, they nearly upset No. 4 Notre Dame on the road.

Stoops is hoping Vanderbilt doesn’t put together a recipe for another scare when his No. 14 Wildcats (5-1, 3-1 SEC) welcome the Commodores (3-4, 0-3) to Lexington at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Here’s what Stoops said about the matchup Wednesday.

On Vandy’s play against Florida:

  • I saw a team that, they are a hungry team. They play hard, they create turnovers, they score on those turnovers. They play hard, in all phases.

On the areas of improvement on your team?

  • We needed to clean up some things. We got sloppy in some areas, in penalties and being more precise. We got better in some areas, execution on third down.. It’s a lot of different areas, first down in particular.

On Terry Wilson:

  • He has been steady, and he has been doing a good job of taking care of the football. … The last game was tough, that can be tough, but he will grow and he’s done a great job of putting us in this position to be 5-1 at this point of the season.

How have you kept the team from looking ahead during the bye?

  • We have a veteran team. Prior to Monday’s team meeting, I had a meeting with our leaders and we talked about that. Staying the course, preparation. … It goes to doing what we have to do Monday, Tuesday and building. … These kids have a lot on their plates. … Keeping their priorities straight … we have some veterans, and we talk about all that.