Three takeaways from Kentucky football’s victory at Mississippi State
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Game day: Kentucky 24, Mississippi State 3
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s Kentucky-Mississippi State football game at Starkville.
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Three takeaways from Kentucky football’s 24-3 win over Mississippi State at Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday night.
1. This was a gotta-have-it game for Kentucky
Kentucky could not have picked a better time for Mark Stoops to (a) get his first win at Starkville and (b) his first road win over an SEC West team. The UK coach was 0-5 at Davis Wade Stadium and 0-11 against West teams in their home stadiums.
And the Cats’ triumph Saturday night under the lights snapped a three-game losing streak and improved UK to 6-3 overall and 3-3 in the conference with Alabama coming to Kroger Field coming off a 42-28 win over LSU. Consider the alternative. Imagine if the Cats were dragging a four-game losing streak back home to face the Crimson Tide? No thank you.
It wasn’t perfect, by any means. Kentucky gained just 271 yards of total offense, while holding Mississippi State to 217. UK’s run game never really clicked — 110 yards on 29 carries. Afterward, Stoops lamented missed opportunities on offense and missed tackles on defense, especially during a 20-play Mississippi State drive in the first half.
“We’d like to play better,” the UK coach said.
Still, Kentucky played well enough to where it was never really threatened. And the Cats are now bowl eligible for the eighth consecutive season. A fourth straight loss and a 5-4 record with Alabama at home and road games at South Carolina and Louisville remaining was a dark place no one in the Cats’ camp wanted to experience.
“Let’s be honest, we needed a win,” Stoops said. “There’s no denying that.”
2. Escape artist Devin Leary built on last week’s performance
Though it came in a 33-27 loss to Tennessee, Kentucky’s Devin Leary played his best game of the season last Saturday. The UK quarterback completed 28 of 38 passes for 379 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. The North Carolina State transfer followed that up Saturday in Starkville.
Leary’s numbers weren’t spectacular. The senior was 13 of 22 for 156 yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game in the fourth quarter because of a continuing eye problem.
“He said his eye was blurry,” UK offensive coordinator Liam Coen said. “Hopefully, the kid is OK.”
It was the way Leary avoided hits and wiggled out of sacks that served as the highlight of his night. Time and again, the crafty veteran was a magician, managing to avoid an onrushing State defensive linemen or blitzer and burn the Bulldogs.
The best example came in the third quarter when, on a third-and-7 from the UK 28, Leary spun out of an attempted sack, then found and hit an open Tayvion Robinson for a 28-yard gain at the State 44. Two plays later, Leary connected with Robinson for a 19-yard gain.
“He’s stronger than people realize,” Robinson said afterward.
On that same drive, Leary appeared to pull his Houdini act once more, this time for a score. After avoiding the sack, he found Dane Key in the deep left corner of the end zone. Alas, the officials ruled — and did not review — that Key did not have full possession of the football when he landed out of bounds.
No matter. Under the assumption that Leary does not have anything lasting, it appears the quarterback is now far more comfortable with and in command of Coen’s offense. With three games to go in the regular season, that’s a good place to be for this Kentucky offense.
3. Kentucky’s defense bounces back
There was no denying that Kentucky’s three-game skid was a rough patch of road for Brad White’s defense. The Cats allowed a combined 122 points to the explosive offenses of Georgia (51), Missouri (38) and Tennessee (33).
Without quarterback Will Rogers (shoulder) and running back Woody Marks (leg), Mississippi State is far from an explosive offense. And Kentucky kept the Bulldogs that way.
Yes, Mississippi State did have one ridiculous 20-play drive that lasted a ridiculously long 12:29 in the first half. Even then, Kentucky kept the Bulldogs to a field goal on that possession. Other than that, however, Kentucky held the home team to three plays or less on four of its first five possessions.
One of those Mississippi State possessions ended up in points for the Cats. On the next possession after that marathon MSU possession, UK linebacker D’Eryk Jackson intercepted a Mike Wright pass and sped 26 yards for a second-quarter pick six to give Kentucky a 14-3 lead.
A hero in Vanderbilt’s 24-21 win over Kentucky last season before transferring to Mississippi State, Wright could not manage an encore as a Bulldog. Wright threw for just 78 yards passing on 11 completions out of 21 attempts. And after rushing for 126 yards against Kentucky last season as a Commodore, he was held to 20 yards on 11 carries as a Bulldog.
This story was originally published November 5, 2023 at 12:19 AM.
