Kentucky's Defense Taking Good and Bad From Past Performances Against Mississippi State

On Saturday night in Lexington, Mark Stoops and Mike Leach will go head-to-head for the third time, as No. 16 Mississippi State looks to extend No. 22 Kentucky's losing streak to three games.

The previous pair of matchups between the Wildcats and Bulldogs have been night-and-day for both sides.

In 2020, UK's defense stole the show, as it picked off Miss State quarterbacks K.J. Costello and Will Rogers a grand total of six times in 60 minutes of football, leading the Cats to a 24-2 victory.

Last season in Starkville, the roles were reversed, as it was Will Levis chucking three picks while Rogers threw for 344 yards en route to a 31-17 win for the Bulldogs.

The win and loss were both indicative of the first two seasons for Miss State under Leach. 2020 saw the team go 4-7, including a four-game and a three-game losing streak. The next season saw Rogers and Co. get more comfortable under the tricky air raid attack, leading to a 7-6 campaign.

2022 has already seen the Bulldogs take that next step, as they currently sit at 5-1 and are on pace to only their fourth 10-win season in program history.

Rogers leads the SEC in passing yards (2,110), completion percentage (71.63) and passing touchdowns (22).

Kentucky defensive coordinator Brad White was commendatory of the progression of Rogers and Miss State's offense as a whole:

"Rogers has been super efficient, he does a nice job, he's smart and protects the football," White said. "They are really a complimentary football team right now from an offensive standpoint, because they're extremely balanced."

The air raid diced up the Wildcats defense a year ago, forcing missed tackle after missed tackle, wearing down the group over the span of four quarters. The up-tempo style is exhausting for a defense to deal with and it takes a toll down the stretch.

That missed-tackle bugaboo reared its head on the Cats a week ago in the 24-14 loss to South Carolina.

"We got to clean up those things we didn't do well, and the number one thing that we can't carry over from last week to this week is missed tackles," White said. "Last year, we missed 21 of em' against Mississippi State." "

White went on to mention the six turnovers that his group notched in 2020, noting that getting the ball back in the hands of the offense in quick succession was going to be a key to victory this weekend.

Senior strong safety Tyrell Ajian is someone who experienced both winning and losing against the Bulldogs across his tenure at Kentucky.

When speaking to the media after practice on Wednesday, he put it simply on prepping for Saturday: Look at how you performed, both good and bad, use it all to your advantage.

"We analyze ourselves, we see where we did really well in 2020, last year we look at what our mistakes were and what we didn't do well," he said. "We gotta make sure we don't repeat the same type of things this year."

Fellow senior DeAndre Square noted what the defense can't do when facing an intimidating offense like the air raid.

Don't. Miss. Tackles.

"With that team, you can't let up, you can't let a catch behind the line of scrimmage go for seven yards on first down, you'll be behind for the whole drive. You gotta make tackles and be physical and know what's coming," Square said. "Open-field tackling is probably the hardest thing to do, so if you're not focused on what's right in front of you, that's how you miss tackles."

Saturday night at Kroger Field will present the Wildcats with a chance to get back on track and save the trajectory of a promising season. If the defense can stick to its keys and get off the field in a timely manner, the return of Levis under center and an improved offense could create a recipe for victory.

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