Here are Chris Lee's post-game thoughts on Vanderbilt's football loss to Kentucky.

Vanderbilt lacks Southeastern Conference-level strength on defense.

Teams have increasingly just run the ball at Vanderbilt as the season progresses, and had their way. UK's physical offensive line started opening creases on nearly every snap, and Kentucky had 229 rushing yards today before the midway point of the second quarter. (The final tally: 402 rushing yards, on 7.2 per snap.)

And it's not just in the trenches.

UK quarterback Lynn Bowden nearly flattened a safety in the second quarter. A couple of plays later, Vandy should have had running back Chris Rodriguez stopped a few yards short of a first down. But Rodriguez got away from the second level of the defense, then, knocked a safety a couple of yards back to get a first down.

A minute or two later, Bowden got free on third-and-8 and again, overpowered linebackers and defensive backs to plow ahead for a first down.

At one point, UK scored touchdowns on five straight long drives, without having to do much in the way of passing.

Quarterback Riley Neal didn't take the leap VU hoped.

Coach Derek Mason raved about how Neal had picked up some things in practice and worked harder than ever. Maybe that's the case, but it didn't translate to the field: Neal was 1-of-5 for two yards in the first half and finished 10-of-19 for 74 yards.

Neal's first throw of the second half was picked off.

This remains the "Not Jared Pinkney Show."

Vanderbilt's preseason All-American tight end wasn't targeted, that I remember, until late in the third quarter. He failed to catch a pass for the third straight game.

First possessions have typically been VU's best. Today's was a disaster.

Center Sean McMoore snapped a ball over Neal's head, resulting in a 20-yard loss. McMoore then jumped offside, setting up third-and-2 from the Vandy 2. The resulting punt was short, and gave UK the ball at the Vandy 44.

There were glimpses of the same offensive stubbornness that's driven fans crazy.

Lack of creativity and refusal to go up-tempo have been hallmarks of this season. VU tried both today in flashes, and both times, it worked.

Today, creativity worked, briefly, and then disappeared again.

On that first scoring drive, a lateral to Cam Johnson, followed by a throw-back to Vaughn, got Vandy 16 yards. That came just after receiver Kalija Lipscomb took one of Vandy's few jet sweeps of the season for 22 yards.

Jet sweeps, in particular, have been a successful staple of VU's offense in recent years. But the Commodores don't stick with them consistently, and today--even though that was VU's longest play of the first three quarters--Vandy didn't return to it.

Trailing 38-14 midway through the fourth quarter, the Commodores finally went up-tempo for one of the few times all season. Vandy had failed to eclipse 16 yards in five of its six previous drives, but went 58 yards to the Kentucky 5 before turning it over on downs.

Here's your obligatory crowd shot.

This was taken in the second quarter.