Kentucky football: Five things to know about Mississippi State
Five quick things to know about Kentucky football’s Saturday opponent, the Mississippi State Bulldogs:
1. Mike Leach and Mark Stoops have an Oklahoma connection
That would be Bob Stoops, Mark’s brother. When Bob Stoops left Florida, where he was defensive coordinator for Steve Spurrier, to become Oklahoma’s head coach in 1999, he hired Leach to be his first offensive coordinator. Why? Because the “Air Raid” offense run by Hal Mumme and Leach at Kentucky, had given Florida fits.
Mark Stoops was a defensive backs coach at Wyoming in 1999, but he got to know Leach through Bob. Even when Leach left Norman after one year to become the head coach at Texas Tech, the two have stayed in touch, etc. After 10 years in Lubbock, then eight years at Washington State, Leach is now in Starkville, and will make his first trip back to Lexington as a coach this weekend.
2. K.J. Costello is the Mississippi State quarterback
The Newport Beach, Calif., native played three years at Stanford. His best season was his sophomore season when the 6-foot-5, 222-pounder completed 269 of 413 passes for 3,540 yards with 29 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. After injuries hampered his junior season, Costello decided to take the graduate transfer route. He was interested in joining Leach at Washington State until the coach took the Mississippi State job. So Costello wound up in Starkville.
His first game, the 44-34 win at LSU, Costello was 36-of-60 for 623 yards and five touchdowns, with two interceptions, one being a pick-six. Last week, in a 21-14 home loss to Arkansas, Costello was 43-of-59 for 313 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions, one being a pick-six.
Biggest difference: At LSU, Mississippi State produced 15 plays of 20 or more yards. Against Arkansas, who routinely rushed three defenders and dropped eight into coverage, Mississippi State produced just one play of 20 or more yards.
3. Mississippi State plays a unique 3-3-5 defense
The Bulldogs defensive coordinator is Zach Arnett, an up-and-coming 34-year-old coach who played for Rocky Long at New Mexico and then coached under him at San Diego State. Arnett plays a 3-3-5 defense, with three defensive linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs, often bringing the fifth defensive back up to the line of scrimmage.
Kentucky faced a similar scheme in beating UT Martin 50-7 last season. According to UK offensive coordinator Eddie Gran, the difference is that Mississippi State moves its defenders around on almost every snap. Its goal is to use movement to confuse the opponents’ blocking scheme.
So far, so good. Mississippi State is currently sixth in the nation in rushing defense, allowing just 1.91 yards per attempt. Considering Kentucky rushed for 408 yards in last week’s 42-41 overtime loss to Ole Miss, it could be strength vs. strength on Saturday.
4. Kylin Hill is expected to play Saturday
The Mississippi State running back was injured early in the Arkansas game, finishing with just one carry for 7 yards. He headed to the injury tent with a reported head injury and did not return. But Leach said this week he expects Hill back Saturday night.
The senior rushed for 1,350 yards and 10 touchdowns on 242 carries last year for then head coach Joe Moorhead. He gained 120 yards and scored three touchdowns on the ground in MSU’s 28-13 win over Kentucky last season. (Moorhead is now offensive coordinator at Oregon.)
In the offseason, Hill threatened to sit out the 2020 season if Mississippi did not remove the Confederate battle symbol from its state flag. (The state is changing its flag.) And people wondered how Hill would fit Leach’s pass-happy offense. Well, at LSU, Hill turned a Costello swing pass into a 75-yard touchdown.
5. Mississippi State leads the Kentucky series 24-23
Kentucky has a 14-9 edge in Lexington, including wins in each of the last two games here. The Cats snapped a seven-game losing streak to Dan Mullen with a 40-38 win over the Bulldogs in 2016. UK beat Moorhead and Mississippi State 28-7 in 2018.
Moorehead earned revenge last year when Wille Gay returned an intercepted Sawyer Smith pass 53 yards for a touchdown and the Bulldogs never looked back. State built a 21-3 lead on the way to the 28-13 victory. Freshman quarterback Garrett Shrader completed 17 of 22 passes for 180 yards and rushed for 125 yards on just 11 carries. In Leach’s offense, however, Shrader is now a wide receiver.
[Kentucky football’s rough history in overtime games and other stats]
[SEC football results and schedule in a Google sheet]
This story was originally published October 9, 2020 at 9:40 AM.
