SEC football final: Mississippi State 31, Kentucky 17
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Game day: Mississippi State 31, No. 12 Kentucky 17
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday night’s Kentucky-Mississippi State football game at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Miss.
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The 12th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats tackle the Mississippi State Bulldogs in an SEC college football contest on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. EDT at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville. The SEC Network has the telecast. Check here for score updates, statistics and a dedicated Twitter feed.
You can interact with me on Twitter at @johnclayiv throughout the game.
Final: Mississippi State 31, Kentucky 17.
Scoring summary
Kentucky 7, Mississippi State 0 - Josh Ali returns a punt 74 yards for a touchdown for the game’s first score at the 7:14 mark of the first quarter. It’s the first punt return for a TD by a Wildcat since Lynn Bowden returned a punt 58 yards for a score in UK’s 27-24 win over Penn State in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1, 2019.
Kentucky 10, Mississippi State 0 - Matt Ruffolo drills a 41-yard field goal to extend UK’s lead with 12:14 left in the first half.
Kentucky 10, Mississippi State 7 - Mike Leach’s offense gets it going, marching 75 yards in eight plays with Jo’quavious Marks scoring on a seven-yard run with 7:45 left in the first half.
Mississippi State 14, Kentucky 10 - Second straight possession, Bulldogs march right down the field, covering 75 yards in nine plays. Dillon Johnson scores on a nine-yard run with 1:40 left in the first half.
Mississippi State 17, Kentucky 10 - On first drive of the second half, Kentucky defense makes a key stop on third-and-goal from the five-yard line, forcing Brandon Ruiz to kick a 27-yard field goal with 6:35 left in the third quarter.
Mississippi State 24, Kentucky 10 - Bulldogs score after recovering Chris Rodriguez’s second fumble of the night. First loss fumble. Three plays later, Dillon Johnson scores on a 1-yard run with 4:44 left in the third quarter.
Mississippi State 31, Kentucky 10 - Will Levis throws his third interception. And State scores again, this time with Will Rogers throwing a 25-yard touchdown pass to Rara Thomas with 2:51 left in the third quarter. Kentucky has been outscored 17-0 this quarter.
Mississippi State 31, Kentucky 17 - Levis comes back and hits DeMarcus Harris for a 17-yard touchdown with 13:37 left in the game.
Pregame info
Date: Oct. 30, 2021.
Kickoff: 7 p.m. EDT
TV: SEC Network with Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers and Cole Cubelic.
Radio: UK Network with Tom Leach, Jeff Piecoro and Dick Gabriel.
Records: Kentucky 6-1; Mississippi State 4-3.
SEC records: Kentucky 4-1; Mississippi State 2-2.
Team websites: Kentucky football; Mississippi State football
Last game: Kentucky lost 30-13 to Georgia in Athens; Mississippi State defeated Vanderbilt 45-6 in Nashville.
Coaches: Kentucky-Mark Stoops (55-51); Mississippi State-Mike Leach (147-100, including 8-10 at Mississippi State)
Series: Tied 24-24.
Last meeting: Kentucky won 24-2 in Lexington on Oct. 10, 2020
This story was originally published October 30, 2021 at 5:00 PM.
