Mississippi State tops Kentucky: Three Takeaways From Bulldogs' Complete Win Saturday Night
Mississippi State pieced together a complete performance in Saturday night’s 31-17 win over Kentucky. With four turnovers forced by the Bulldogs defensive unit, and a career performance from QB Will Rogers – it was a great night for a rising Bulldogs program.
With key individual performances and standout plays in key moments; we could easily give ten or more takeaways from this game.
Here's a look into three primary takeaways from a Bulldogs victory that was nothing short of impressive.
MSU’s defense made plays in key moments
After a two-interception first half, the Bulldogs defense proved that the unit came to play. When MSU cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. was ejected for a controversial targeting hit in the first half, a deep gasp of air would’ve been understandable on the Bulldogs sidelines.
Yet, even after losing one of their best defensive players, the team kept fighting.
“I think they did a pretty good job of doing their jobs.”
Leach said in an interview at halftime.
Bulldogs safety Jalen Green intercepted Wildcats quarterback Will Levis with just nine seconds left in the first half. That play negated a Wildcats field goal -- or touchdown -- helping the Bulldogs keep a 14-10 lead heading into the second half. Game-changing play for MSU.
And in the second half, the Bulldogs continued to place pressure on Levis and the Wildcats offense. MSU forced two more turnovers in the third quarter, which helped its offense build a larger lead to begin the second half.
QB Will Rogers continues to show his development
Bulldogs quarterback Will Rogers has played well enough this season to keep his team in games, for the most part. In this game, however, he made several plays that elevated both his receivers as well as the entire MSU offense.
The drive at the end of the first half was a great example of how Rogers has developed as the season as progressed.
At times Saturday night, Rogers seemed to be in slight discomfort and even the broadcast noted on more than one occasion that Rogers doesn’t seem 100% healthy in this game.
Rogers ended the night completing 36-of-39 for 344 yards and one touchdown pass. As close to a perfect game as you’ll see – and an SEC single-game completion percentage record (with 30 or more passing attempts), to top it off.
In a dominant key win over the No. 12 ranked Kentucky, Rogers put the Bulldogs in position to win a competitive hard-fought football game.
A complete day on offense
Rogers had himself a standout performance, but he wasn’t the only one making plays on Saturday night. The offense as a whole looked in-sync and as good as it’s looked since Mike Leach arrived.
The passing game was far more than we’ve seen in past games this season as Rogers made several throws that we have not seen him complete to this point in his young career.
The scary part for opposing teams is that under Leach, this Bulldogs offense is far from a finished product. And if the unit continues to progress with Rogers behind center, the future looks quite bright in Starkville.
