A season ago, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia took a bow and got his curtain call in front of a roaring crowd at FirstBank Stadium as he led his Commodores past Kentucky in dominating fashion. It was a night where everything felt perfect for the program.A lot has changed since that moment. Pavia left to pursue NFL opportunities and Vanderbilt lost a couple other key pieces to its 2025 team that it will need to replace in 2026. It also swayed five-star freshman quarterback Jared Curtis away from Georgia.This season’s matchup with the Wildcats will be much different for them as well. Kentucky has a new head coach, Will Stein from Oregon. The former offensive coordinator for the Ducks is trying to rebuild the program that Mark Stoops built back to relevancy in the SEC.With all coaching jobs, nothing will come easy for Kentucky. The Wildcats have a difficult schedule, but Stein will look to prove doubters wrong.The Commodores and Wildcats will meet a week before Halloween this year. Here is a breakdown and the game information for Vanderbilt’s game against Kentucky.OffenseKentucky had weaknesses on both sides of the ball a season ago, but especially on offense. Kentucky was 103rd in total offense with just 341 yards per game and 23 points per game. Points were largely at a premium in a lot of its conference games in 2025.Kentucky’s starting quarterback from last season, Cutter, Boley, had just 2,160 passing yards and the team did not have a rusher go over 800 yards. This season is perhaps more challenging.As of now, Kentucky does not have a starting quarterback named for the season. Boley is gone and last seasons’ backup, Zach Calzada, is as well. The Wildcats did bring in former Notre Dame backup quarterback Kenny Minchey, FAU quarterback Carson Cruver and Marshall quarterback JacQai Long. Per On3 Sports’ transfer portal ratings, Minchey is the highest-rated of the three quarterbacks Kentucky added.Perhaps Kentucky ends up going with one of those to lead the offense, but who will the playmakers be on offense?The Wildcats lost its top two running backs, Seth McGowen and Dante Dowdell. They also lost their leading receiver, Kendrick Law. Kentucky did try to bring in reinforcements, though.Kentucky picked up former Texas running back CJ Baxter through the portal to lead the rushing attack this year. Kentucky also added Southern Utah wide receiver Shane Carr, LSU wide receiver Nic Anderson and Arkansas wide receiver Ja’Kayden Ferguson. Up front, the Wildcats added Tennessee offensive lineman Lance Heard and Baylor offensive lineman Coleton Price.The biggest question still remains who will play quarterback because of how valuable and crucial the position is in the modern game of football.DefenseKentucky was not as bad defensively as it was offensively in 2025. The Wildcats were 67th in the nation in total defense, allowing just over 26 points per game.Kentucky did try to pick up pieces to its defense in the portal. It was able to add former Florida safety Jordan Castell, Texas linebacker Elijah Barnes and Purdue defensive lineman Jamarrion Harkless. The positive from Kentucky, too, is that it returns its best defensive player from 2025 in Ty Bryant.Bryant led the team in interceptions with four and tackles with 76.If Kentucky is able to make significant improvements on defense, then it could help make up for the lack of offensive production, if that continues to be an issue this year. But that can only take the Wildcats so far. Allowing 26 points per game was not enough to get the team to a bowl game a season ago because of lack of scoring offensively.One could say there is some pressure for Kentucky’s defense to anchor the way this year. But there is a world in which Kentucky’s offense surprises some people and takes some of the load off the defense. Kentucky as a team is a wild card team in the sense that its season could go multiple different ways based on how Stein coaches and develops his guys.ScheduleThe setup of Kentucky’s schedule is interesting. The Wildcats have their first SEC game against Alabama at home in Week 2 before going to Texas A&M the next week. Kentucky’s second nonconference game will be at the end of September against South Alabama and its final nonconference game will be against Louisville during rivalry week.OutlookKentucky is going to be an interesting team to monitor in the SEC this season. Will Stein helped Oregon’s offense get all the way to the semifinal round of the College Football Playoff and was able to help coach a talented Dante Moore. But this is a much different situation in 2026.Kentucky is not forecasted to be a team that will be competing for a SEC title this season. That would be a surprise. But it would not be the biggest surprise in the world if Kentucky is able to pull off an upset or two this season, or at least come close to pulling an upset.This game is certainly an interesting one to talk about the outlook for Vanderbilt. Though this game will not be easy for the Commodores to win, it is one of their easier SEC games this season with the strength of schedule Vanderbilt has. It could be a game where Vanderbilt is favored, but that will depend a lot on the play of both teams.The GameDate: Oct. 24Time: Night slate (5-7 p.m. CT kickoff time)TV: TBDLocation: Kroger Field, Lexington, KentuckySeries history: Kentucky leads 48-45-4Last meeting: Vanderbilt beat Kentucky 45-17 in 2025The TeamCoach: Will Stein, first seasonOffensive coordinator: Joe SloanDefensive coordinator: Jay Bateman2025 record: 5-7 (2-6 SEC)2025 rankings: 103rd in total offense, 67th in total defenseTop Newcomer: Lance Heard, offensive tackle transfer from TennesseeBiggest Question: Can Will Stein pull off some magic in his first year with the transfer portal class he got?The SchoolLocation: Lexington, KentuckyFounded: 1865Enrollment: 38,719 total studentsNickname: WildcatsColors: Blue and whiteMascot: Scratch the WildcatsThe ProgramLast win in series: Kentucky beat Vanderbilt 45-28 in 2023.FBS championships: One claimed national championship (1950)FBS Playoff Appearances: None The ScheduleSeptember 5: vs. Youngstown StateSeptember 12: vs. AlabamaSeptember 19: at Texas A&MSeptember 26: vs. South AlabamaOctober 3: at South CarolinaOctober 10: vs. LSUOctober 17: at OklahomaOctober 24: vs. VanderbiltNovember 7: at TennesseeNovember 14: vs. FloridaNovember 21: at MissouriNovember 28: vs. LouisvilleThis is the eighth story in Vanderbilt on SI's early preview series of all 12 regular-season opponents for Vanderbilt football in 2026Follow us on Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Threads and Blue Sky for the latest news.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow