Kentucky coach Rich Brooks saw plenty from Vanderbilt in the Commodores' 49-42 double overtime loss at No. 13 Florida to know how difficult this game will be for his team.
"Vandy played a great game on the road and almost pulled off one of the biggest upsets in many years," Brooks said. "They are still talking bowl possibilities. We are the cure for them to keep talking. We need to go get a SEC win, but that's going to be difficult because Vanderbilt is very good."
Cutler has thrown for 2,363 yards
Vanderbilt's best player is quarterback Jay Cutler. He's already thrown for 2,363 yards and 13 touchdowns this year while completing 58 percent of his passes.
"Cutler drives me nuts," Brooks said. "He's faster than he appears and harder to bring down than he appears. He throws the ball often times off his back foot, gunslinger-style. But he throws a catchable ball. He's proven this year that he is a bona fide guy for the NFL."
Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson knows he's fortunate to have Cutler running his offense.
"He knows what to do. It's a lot easier when you can let guys watch him. You can just tell your young guys to do like he is and your offense will be good," Johnson said.
Cutler says his goal when he came to Vanderbilt was to play in a bowl game. "We still hope to get that done this year," he said.
However, Cutler can also sympathize with the growing pains UK sophomore quarterback Andre Woodson has had. Woodson had one of his best games last week against Auburn, but he's been inconsistent most of the season.
"There will be ups and downs with any young quarterback. You just have to believe in your abilities," Cutler said. "The toughest thing is the criticism you sometimes take. Obviously, the coaches have him there for a reason. They believe he is the guy to lead the team and he just has to believe that and not look back."
"It's almost cruel to send a young quarterback out there to play in this league," Johnson said. "Defenses are so good that they really make it hard on inexperienced quarterbacks."
Little tops SEC in all-purpose yards
Kentucky's offense had a balanced running and passing attack against Auburn thanks to Woodson's passing and the overall play of running back Rafael Little, who leads the SEC in all-purpose yardage with 263 yards per game.
"It's harder to stop an offense that can both run and pass," Osemwegie said. "If you can't stop either one, you have big trouble. We have to be able to take something away from Kentucky."
One of Cutler's best assets at Vanderbilt this year has been freshman receiver Earl Bennett. He has a team-high 41 catches for 610 yards and three touchdowns.
Bennett gave a verbal commitment to Kentucky, which planned to use him at cornerback, before signing with Vanderbilt.
"He's a big-time player," Brooks said. "He can go and make plays much like (UK sophomore) Keenan Burton.
"We recruited him primarily as a defensive back because we thought with the depth we had at receiver, that would be the avenue to get him on the field the quickest. We gave him a choice."
