Kentucky Outlasts Mississippi State in Gritty 27-17 Victory
An injury-riddled Kentucky team managed to find victory for the first time in three weeks on Saturday night, defeating No. 16 Mississippi State 27-17 in what was an ugly affair under the lights at Kroger Field.
The win was propelled by two things: running back Chris Rodriguez Jr, and penalties...lots and lots of penalties.
"A team effort," UK head coach Mark Stoops said after the win. "Put it together in all phases when we had to. Sure, there's things to clean up, like always, like any team. But overall, just a great team victory."
Rodriguez put in a career performance against the Bulldogs, rushing for 196 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries. It's his second-highest single-game rushing performance.
While the No. 22 Wildcats ran behind their workhorse, Mississippi State (5-2, 2-2 SEC) continued to shoot itself in the foot time-and-time again down the stretch. The Bulldogs finished with 13 penalties totaling 109 yards of damage.
Kentucky wasn't much better, as it recorded 11 of its own, 10 of which came in the first half. The Wildcats jumped offside twice before Miss State could even run a play to begin the game.
it was uncharacteristic a little bit early," Stoops said of the penalties. "You know, some penalties are going to happen. Aggressive penalties. The pre-snap penalties are hard to tolerate. And we got to buckle down and do a better job with that."
Kentucky welcomed back quarterback Will Levis, who made his return after missing the previous game against South Carolina due to a turf toe injury.
He completed 17 passes for 230 yards, a touchdown and an interception, but he still couldn't escape the injury bug.
In the second quarter, after heaving a completion downfield to Barion Brown, Levis was hit hard and fell on his left shoulder, causing the star QB to stay down after the play. He was attended to and immediately ran back to the locker room to get evaluated and X-Rayed.
Mississippi State would score on the ensuing drive after Levis' departure, but he would return during the extra point, causing Kroger Field and Big Blue Nation to roar, giving the Wildcats that final spark they needed to complete their season-saving victory.
"It was cool to see the fans react the way they did," Levis said post-game. "It was a good spark for the team, for sure."
Levis was also without his top wide receiver in Tayvion Robinson, who was unavailable to play due to injury. Brown stepped up in his place, catching seven passes for 62 yards. But there was a new face in the slot that made his presence felt for the Wildcats on Saturday.
Rahsaan Lewis caught four passes, including his first collegiate touchdown against the Bulldogs in five targets. The senior hadn't played any role in the offense through six weeks, but offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello knew he could trust his guy in place of Robinson:
Lewis wasn't the only new face making noise at WR, as Dekel Crowdus caught a 50-yard bomb from Levis on a big 3rd down, setting up Rodriguez's second touchdown of the night.
On defense, Kentucky was once again without Jacquez Jones, but it was his linebacker-mate DeAndre Square who stepped up in a big way for Brad White's group. Square led the team with 11 tackles and also notched a game-sealing interception.
As a defense, Kentucky held the tricky air raid to just 225 yards and only 22 rushing yards. Quarterback Will Rogers threw for just 203 yards and one touchdown. The Bulldogs entered Saturday having scored 39-plus points in all but one game this season.
White was overcome with pride for his defense after the win.
"The guys executed what we talked about," he said. "We had three really important keys, i'll leave those keys within the house...I don't have enough words, these are the games as a coach, it wasn't about any magical calls, it wasn't about anything except watching those guys play football at a really high level."
The victory is a game-changer for the Wildcats, who improved to 5-2 (2-2 SEC). They ended a two-game skid, doing so against one of the hottest teams in the nation. It also sends Stoops and the team into their bye week on a much sweeter note.
It was a great night. The bye comes at a good time for us right now," Stoops said. "The players need some time to heal up. It's difficult going that many straight games. We need to get some rest and get to work and clean up a lot of mistakes."
That week of rest will be crucial to getting some players back to full strength, especially with who will be awaiting their arrival.
Kentucky will next head down to Knoxville, Tenn. to take on the daunting machine that is the Tennessee Volunteers, who are fresh off of a win over the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Neyland Stadium will be rocking as the Cats look to avenge last season's heartbreaking defeat.
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