Mark Stoops made it known to everyone that would listen that Kentucky was in a pit and the only way out would be to fight it’s way out. In the first quarter it looked like Mississippi State took his challenge and were going to literally start a fight (including a cheap shot on JuTahn McClain). Kentucky let their play send a message and got a season-saving win.
Offense
The end of game stats won’t paint a pretty picture so those who didn’t watch (or don’t know what they’re watching) will be overly negative but I thought the UK offense was fine. We’ll start with Leary who I thought continued his good play. His final line was 13/22 for 156 yards and 2 TD which doesn’t exactly melt your heart, but he was composed in the pocket and made some good throws (especially in the first half). He was also denied another TD with Dane Key failing to hold on to a ball after falling out the side of the end zone (the refs got the call right but the rule itself is dumb, that should be a catch).
Leary led three different scoring drives of 62, 63, and 72 yards in the first three quarters and it looked like a continuation of the improvement we saw in the Tennessee game. It also must be said that while Mississippi State isn’t a good football team, they have an excellent defensive coach and still have quite a bit of talent on that side of the ball.
Midway through the 2nd quarter Zach Arnett realized the Bulldogs weren’t winning unless their defense did something crazy. He started sending exotic blitzes and weird defensive fronts (which had been his specialty when he was just the DC) to confuse the Kentucky OL and it worked. Leary was able to escape several certain sacks, but it eventually took it’s toll. He was only officially sacked once but took way too many hits and Leary was clearly hobbled (maybe a concussion). Kaiya Sheron was forced to come in for the 4th quarter to close out the game (and did what was asked of him).
The running game also failed to really excite but Kentucky got over the century mark with 110 yards. Ray Davis went for 21 carries and 80 yards which isn’t great, but 8 of his carries (16 yards) came in the 4th quarter with State stacking the box knowing Kentucky wasn’t going to risk many throws with Sheron. In the first three quarters with Leary in control Ray had 13 carries for 64, which is almost 5 yards a carry.
Defense
Huge bounce back week for the Kentucky defense. It helped playing a Mississippi State offense that might be the worst in the conference, but you won’t me hear me apologizing for it. The defense allowed one deflating 20-play 88-yard drive that sucked almost 13 minutes off the clock. The drive was marred by several missed open field tackles that would have killed the drive and at least one busted coverage on a 3rd and long. Fortunately, State’s offensive ineptitude spared our blushes and Arnett made the mistake of settling for a FG.
After that the Kentucky defense locked in giving up only 129 yards the rest of the game and scored a TD themselves with LB D’Eryk Jackson’s pick 6. The Kentucky DL completely controlled the LOS only allowing 73 rushing yards. A lot was made about Mississippi State missing their starting RB but on rewatch there weren’t many holes to begin with. Woody Marks probably picks up a few extra yards just by being more talented, but I don’t think he makes much of a difference.
When Mike Wright was announced as the starter a lot of Kentucky fans (including me) had flashbacks of him running all over Kentucky last year with Vanderbilt. It seemed the Kentucky defense took that personally and completely neutralized him. Brad White used a lot more DL stunts to and even brought some pressure to never let him get comfortable. He was sacked just twice but he was pressured consistently, and Kentucky did not allow him to scramble. He finished the day 11/21 for just 78 yards and 1 INT while only rushing for 20 yards on 11 carries before being knocked out of the game. His back-up made a few more plays in the air but Kentucky was able to sack him 3 times.
Overall, 5 sacks (8 TFL total) is what this defense has been missing the last month of the season. Stoops was also able to get a bunch 2’s and 3’s some valuable reps as Kentucky was comfortably winning the entire 2nd half.
Special Teams
Wilson Berry is what he is but he had a decent day in Starkville. He still can’t flip fields, but he did pin State inside the 20 three times which is valuable against a really bad offense. He was fortunate the offense was moving the ball while the game was still in doubt and then fortunate that the defense was locked in during the 2nd half.
Alex Raynor was 3/3 on XP and hit a 32-yard FG. He continues to be money from 50 and in (8/8 on the year from 50 yards and in). He’s been an excellent portal addition.
There were no glaring coverage goofs nor did we muff any punts. Kentucky did do well to avoid any extracurricular activities that the Bulldogs seemed determined to initiate. There was even a blatant cheap shot on JuTahn McClain that ended up knocking him out of the game (surely the SEC has to get involved here).
Final Thoughts
I do not think Stoops was ever in any danger of being fired this season, but he absolutely was feeling some heat for the first time since 2016. This was a must-win game against a hobbled offense (but a defense that has several NFL players on it) and Kentucky came out and kind of kicked their ass.
The final stats of course won’t reflect that ass-kicking but those won’t account for Leary only play three quarters or several back-ups playing along the offensive and defensive line. Any time you can rest starters in the 4th quarter in the SEC because you’re winning by so much, I qualify that as an ass-kicking.
Next week the Cats will get their shot at Alabama. We’re still waiting on the status of Devin Leary but either way the expectation is to compete and stay healthy.
