Vanderbilt star quarterback Diego Pavia completed two touchdown passes of at least 50 yards before halftime on the way to a 45-17 rout of the Wildcats. It was Vanderbilt’s biggest win over Kentucky since the 40-0 win that ended the Joker Phillips era at UK in 2012.

In a blowout of Kentucky, Vanderbilt football, led by Diego Pavia, finally looked the part of a College Football Playoff contender.

Diego Pavia threw for a career-high 484 yards and five touchdowns and No. 12 Vanderbilt beat Kentucky 45-17 and the Commodores kept their hopes for a College Football Playoff berth alive going into the regular-season finale.

The Wildcats are 4-1 against the spread (ATS) in the past 5 games, with the Over going 3-1 in the past 4 outings and 7-2 across the previous 9. Kentucky needs at least 1 win at Vandy or Louisville in the final 2 games to qualify for a bowl game.

Vanderbilt football head coach Clark Lea took Diego Pavia out as his team blew out Kentucky, but the QB demanded to go back in.

Vanderbilt and Kentucky coaching staffs were both issued unsportsmanlike penalties after the benches cleared before halftime.

The good news is that Diego Pavia, Eli Stowers, and the buzzsaw that is Vanderbilt’s offense dropped 45, including the game-winning drive in overtime. Let’s dive into everything else that happened on the way there.

Kentucky and Vanderbilt are not at the top of the SEC football food chain. That doesn’t mean there aren’t peaks for each program in between valleys. However, those peaks rarely align at the same time.