‘Physical’ was the word of the week for UK and Miss. State. It’s pretty clear why.

The word “physical” was used nine times by Mark Stoops in Monday’s news conference to preview Mississippi State.

It was the word of the week for players and coaches on both teams.

“They’re as physical as anybody you’re going to play in this league, if not more,” Kentucky’s coach said of the No. 14 Bulldogs. “So you have to match it. It starts there.”

One of the first things UK discussed in Monday’s meeting was how important it is going to be to win matchups along the line of scrimmage.

The Bulldogs’ defense, a top-10 defense nationally, is holding opponents to a Southeastern Conference-low 4 yards per carry. It hasn’t allowed an individual run of more than 18 yards in a game.

Jeffery Simmons and Montez Sweat lead the SEC in tackles for loss per game with 5.5 each.

“They are really, really good up front,” UK offensive coordinator Eddie Gran said, noting that it extends to State’s front seven players.

As for UK’s offensive line and protection, Gran said: ”Schematically you have to try to help them out. Obviously being a physical football team, you’ve got to bring it against Mississippi State.”

Sweat also leads the league in quarterback sacks, which is interesting to note alongside UK having allowed a league-low one sack of Terry Wilson this season. The Cats’ 3.7 tackles for loss allowed in games is tied for third in the conference.

“We have a lot of respect for them, but like last year, we blocked them,” said UK center Drake Jackson, who earned his first start at that spot against the Bulldogs (3-0, 0-0 SEC) last season.

“We did some good things and we did some bad things. Now we just have to play sound football against them,” he said. “With guys like that you have to go hard every play. You can’t take a play off because they’ll take advantage of it.”

Kentucky (3-0, 1-0) isn’t the only team concerned about the players lining up across from it. Bulldogs Coach Joe Moorhead noted that UK is “big, strong and physical up front,” with two great linebackers — he specifically mentioned seniors Josh Allen and Jordan Jones — who avoid blocks and create problems.

“Their mindset is toughness, physicality, aggressiveness and explosiveness,” Moorhead said of UK, “and right now, they’re playing with a ton of confidence.”

It will come down to technique and players handling their assignments starting at the line and extending outward.

The team that wins the most one-on-one matchups on the perimeter probably will be the one that wins the game, Stoops said.

Being able to run the ball opens up a lot of opportunities, and the teams are first and third in the league in rushing with State leading the way at 311.7 yards per game and UK in third at 282.

“That’s where they put so much stress on you,” Stoops said. “Their total offense is off the charts as well. They’ve been extremely explosive this year and put a lot of pressure on you. It starts with them being physical across the board.”

‘He’ll expose you’

There’s no getting around the numbers. Quarterback Nick Fitzgerald has caused Kentucky fits in each of the past two seasons it has faced the 6-foot-5, 230-pound senior.

Fitzgerald, who Is just 196 yards away from breaking Tim Tebow’s SEC quarterback rushing record, has averaged 7.9 yards per carry against UK in two meetings, rushing for a combined 222 yards and four touchdowns.

His 115 yards with two touchdowns on the ground last season was more than UK’s offense managed against the Bulldogs.

Through the air in the last two years, he’s 31-for-47 for 236 yards with two touchdowns.

In two meetings, the Cats have never sacked the quarterback that Stoops called a “beast” earlier this week.

A defense can everything matched up perfectly and then a dual-threat quarterback like Fitzgerald — much like UK’s Terry Wilson has shown this season — can kill you with his running ability.

“If you get out of place he’ll expose you,” Stoops said, pointing to a fourth-and-1 play Fitzgerald made last season versus Kentucky. “He’s going to get some yards. You’ve just gotta make sure you limit it as best you possibly can.”

Third quarter dominance

Josh Allen joked that his feet were hot out on the turf after the half, so he told his Kentucky teammates to initiate three quick three-and-outs.

That’s one explanation for how Kentucky hasn’t allowed a third-quarter score yet this season. Stoops had a few more plausible ones.

“The experience of our group helps, and the group being intentional about going in the locker room,” the coach said. “It’s a sign of maturity, our team getting with their groups, the leaders within the groups discussing things before the coaches get in there.”

It’s a sign of a mature, player-led team, he continued of Kentucky, whose opponents are averaging 26.7 yards in that quarter against the Cats’ defense.

Last week against Murray State, UK’s defense forced those three straight three-and-outs, and gave up just 2 total yards in that quarter.

Stoops added: “They’ve been intentional about that, about getting together, sitting with each other, reviewing the things that are hurting us, how to get them corrected, things we’re doing good, how to attack and so on.”

Mississippi State, is outscoring opponents 35-10 in third quarters, so a fast start out of the half couldn’t hurt.

Allen’s serious response for UK’s third-quarter success was two-fold: the defense wants to give its offensive counterparts a jolt of confidence and that thing Stoops said about how important leaders are when adjustments need to be made.

Allen added: “We know we have a great team and great players and we have a lot of leaders, so we know we have to correct those mistakes and I feel like we do a good job with those.”

Avoiding old problems

The third quarter wasn’t necessarily the problem last season in Starkville. It was the minutes before the half when the game unraveled for Kentucky.

“We screwed it up right there in the second quarter,” UK offensive coordinator Eddie Gran said.

UK had a chance to go in tied or at worst down three points despite not playing well before it got a little crazy for the Cats, who went for a home run play — a loft up to tight end Greg Hart — on third-and-1 with less than three minutes to go before the break.

“It was time to get out of that half, and it was imperative that we got a first down,” Stoops said of that series. “We thought we would try to get a shot and went for a home run, and the game flipped right there.”

Kentucky’s coaches learned a lot from that situation, Stoops said this week and noted that they were in the same one against Florida two weeks ago and Stoops and Gran stopped to discuss it.

The Cats were more successful at clock and play management this time around and might need to be on Saturday with the Bulldogs outscoring opponents 42-10 in second quarters.

“It’s not always going to be that way because it’s hard,” Stoops said Monday. “You’ve got to make the first downs, you’ve got to understand what you’re trying to do with the clock.”