[soccerplayer]

Chris Jordan Saturday's winners ...
500♦ KENTUCKY - One win.

That's what stands in the way of the oft-absent-minded Wildcats from becoming bowl eligible. And something tells me this team is going to be far from abset-minded today, with so much at stake.

All week I've read accounts of how everyone in Lexington assumes the clash with Vandy has always been an automatic win. Coach Rich Brooks says that's false, and he's done everything to keep his troops focused on the importance of this game.

I believe him.

After all, the Cats have won 39 times in this series; Vanderbilt has won 38 and there have been four ties. How do you look past something like that?

Kentucky is going to pose problems for Vanderbilt this week, using a duo-quarterback threat, as Mike Hartline, who started the Cats' first four games before he was sidelined by a knee injury at South Carolina, returns after a four-game absence. He and Morgan Newton - his replacement in the starting lineup - will play against the Commodores. The starter is a game-day decision, and I haven't seen who is getting the nod.

But it shouldn't matter against the 54th-ranked defense. It's scrappy, I'll admit. But because the rushing D ranks 101st in the country, it tells me the front line is easily worn down, which means this is a second-half pullaway for us.

Vandy split its first four games and is 0-6 since, losing by an average margin of 14.3 points per loss. That, understandably, is in part because the Commodores have played the likes of Georgia, Georgia Tech and Florida in three of the last four weeks. But it's also because this team can't do anything on offense.

Vandy is ranked 111th with its passing game, 111th in scoring and 102nd overall. That should make things much easier for a Kentucky team that is respectable on defense.

Must win ... it's the mantra for many teams over the next few weeks. For Kentucky, it's the theme for the day.

NOTE - I've noticed the line in this game is anywhere from 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 points. It's very sporadic. My suggestion is most definitely to buy the half-point down from either -3 or -3-1/2. It's worth the value, in the event this game comes down to the wire. Your value is to play Kentucky at -2-1/2 if possible, which right now I see is VERY POSSIBLE at about 80 percent of the books online, which are sitting at -3. If there's an extra hook, you are to buy it down to -3 and lay only the field goal