MSU Drops SEC Opener At Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. (MSU Athletics/WCBI Sports) – A strong ground game by Kentucky was difficult to overcome for No. 14 Mississippi State on Saturday night, as the Bulldogs dropped a 28-7 decision to the Wildcats at Kroger Field.

MSU (3-1, 0-1 SEC) struck first on a one-yard rush around the right edge by Nick Fitzgerald midway through the second quarter, but UK (4-0, 1-0) rode the legs of Benny Snell on its way to scoring 28 unanswered points – all on Snell rushes – pulling away late with two fourth-quarter scores. State’s scoring drive was its longest of the season in terms of plays and time of possession–15 plays for 80 yards over 8:17.

“(On that drive), we did the things we needed to do—we stayed ahead of the sticks,” head coach Joe Moorhead said. “We had a good mix of run and pass to get down to the red zone and the goal line and Nick was able to punch it in. We’re certainly capable of that, and we just didn’t see enough of it throughout the day.”

State committed 16 penalties for 139 yards on the night, while finding great difficulty establishing its normally potent run game against a Wildcat defense that held the Bulldogs to just 56 yards on the ground and 201 yards overall.

Defensively, the Bulldogs were able to apply pressure on the Wildcats’ backfield, tallying 10 tackles for loss, led by a pair from Braxton Hoyett. Montez Sweat also continued to establish his presence in opposing backfields with 1.5 of MSU’s three sacks on the night. Erroll Thompson led State with 7 total tackles. Brian Cole added an interception late in the contest—his first as a Bulldog.

After Fitzgerald’s touchdown, the Wildcats evened it up with a two-yard score by Snell late in the first half to make it a 7-7 score at the half.

UK took the lead for good with just over six minutes left in the third quarter when Snell found pay dirt from a yard out. Fourth-quarter scores from 36 and 23 yards capped off Snell’s night to close it out.

Snell led all rushers with 165 yards on 25 touches and all four Wildcat scores on the night.

Through the air, Fitzgerald was 16-of-32 passing for 145 yards and an interception. Osirus Mitchell led all receivers with a game-high six catches for 65 yards.