By Alex Forkner | Football columnist

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Two seasons ago, UK football traveled to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt University. Both teams had four wins, both had bowl aspirations and the game would prove to be a crossroads for the two programs.

Vanderbilt rode off into the sunset, while UK could only kick its tires.

The Commodores stormed out to a 31-0 lead and eventually won 38-8. They would go on to play in the Liberty Bowl,  while UK was left out of postseason play. The following year, Vandy would throttle the Cats 40-0 and hand Joker Phillips his pink slip.

Vandy would finish 9-4, beating North Carolina State University in the Music City Bowl. UK, of course, totaled a paltry two wins last season.

Once bedfellows in the SEC’s bottom bunk, the two teams were headed in different directions. Vanderbilt was proving that success was possible for non-traditional powers in the league.

New hotshot head coach James Franklin injected life into a program previously content with being a zombie, scavenging the dregs for wins and getting drilled in the head by top teams.

“We have great kids here and we have a really specific plan, and the kids bought into the plan right away and worked extremely hard,” Franklin said. “We worked really hard at having great chemistry and because of that, we’ve been able to do some good things. It really comes down to the chemistry we have as a coaching staff and the chemistry we have with the players. With that, we’ve been able to maximize their experience here.”

It’s fair to say Vandy’s newfound success was at least one of the impetuses for UK’s boosted investment in the football program. It’s why the athletic department looked for a motivated, first-time head coach, and why he assembled an energetic staff that will blaze recruiting trails and reel in commitments from highly rated prospects.

And so far that’s going swimmingly. What isn’t going so well is the football games the Cats are playing this season.

“We all want immediate success and we’re working extremely hard to get that done,” UK head coach Mark Stoops said. “But (losing this season) doesn’t get me down because I know I’ve been doing things right and trying to do things right for nine or 10 months, and teams we’re playing have been doing (things right) for nine or 10 years minimum or longer, right?

“These teams are all doing the right things: recruiting right, coaching the right way. It’s a very competitive league and that’s where I have to show our team and show our players the silver lining and where we are improving and then the areas where we need to consistently grown and be more consistent.”

After that crossroads matchup two years ago and the beat-down last season, the two teams meet again this Saturday, and not quite on even ground. Vandy is again on the cusp of a bowl berth and has wins over the University of Georgia and the University of Florida. The Commodores are a much more complete team than UK is right now.

But in a couple of years, when UK is rounding into the type of team that Stoops wants to field, they’ll owe Vanderbilt a thank you.

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