LEXINGTON, Ky. — Mississippi State defensive lineman Kaleb Eulls thought he had overrun the play.
He was wrong.
The 6-foot-3, 290-pound starting defensive tackle stopped his momentum late in the second quarter and reached up with one arm to bring down Kentucky quarterback Patrick Towles for the Bulldogs’ first sack of the day. MSU delivered six more in the 45-31 victory to move from fourth in the Southeastern Conference in sacks to first with 28 in seven games.
“I thought I missed him,” Eulls said. “When I got my hand on him, I just held on. He’s a big guy. I knew I couldn’t let go.”
Eulls didn’t let go, and he delivered the first blow of plenty delivered by the defensive line. The Yazoo County-born senior sacked Towles again in the second half and finished with two sacks to lead a MSU defense that saw six players combine for seven sacks.
“You look at a guy like Kaleb Eulls, and I love everything about that guy,” MSU coach Dan Mullen said of Eulls, who was part of Mullen’s 2010 recruiting class. “They way he practices, the way he comes to work every day … You look at where he has come from and where he is now, that tells you all you need to know about why college football is great.”
It wasn’t just Eulls, though. MSU’s defensive front reached Towles all night and finished with nine tackles for loss. Defensive ends Preston Smith and Ryan Brown each had one and a half sacks, linebacker Matthew Wells had a sack, and linebackers Beniquez Brown and Zach Jackson each had half a sack.
Linebacker Benardrick McKinney added a fumble recovery that set up a 26-yard field goal by Evan Sobiesk to give MSU a 10-7 lead late in the first quarter.
“Our defense made the plays they had to make,” Mullen said. “It wasn’t pretty. We gave up to many yards, too many big plays, but their quarterback is a heck of an athlete. We found a way to make big plays at key moments in the game.”
Tested for the first time
MSU might have earned its sixth double-digit victory of the season, but it wasn’t easy.
Unlike MSU’s previous six games, when it enjoyed at least a 20-point lead, the Bulldogs never built a comfortable cushion against the Wildcats. MSU’s final margin of victory was its biggest lead of the game.
“They are a great football team,” MSU quarterback Dak Prescott said of Kentucky. “We knew we were in for a battle. They always play us tough.”
Every time MSU created separation, Kentucky closed the gap, usually with a big play. After Prescott engineered an 82-yard touchdown drive on MSU’s first possession, Towles found wide receiver Demarco Robinson for a 67-yard touchdown to tie the game. After Prescott scored on an 11-yard run to open the third quarter and give MSU a 24-10 lead, Towles answered with a 10-yard touchdown run. It was that kind of day for the Bulldogs, who never put the Wildcats away in what turned out to be MSU’s stiffest test of the season.
“It was a tough environment against a very good team who gave us absolutely everything they had out there on that field,” Mullen said.
Nice play, Holmes
Leave it to a backup linebacker to deliver the game-clinching score in the shootout.
That’s what fifth-year senior Christian Holes did when he fielded an onside kick and returned it 61 yards to seal the deal.
Holmes, who is fifth on the team with 32 tackles, was on the field for Kentucky’s onside kick attempt after it had trimmed MSU’s lead to 38-31with 2 minutes, 31 seconds remaining.
Kicker Austin MacGinnes bounced the onside effort in the direction of Holmes, and the Puckett native fielded the ball and sprinted down the Kentucky sideline. He didn’t stop until he dove into the end zone to cap a return that put the game out of reach.
What happened next revealed exactly how often Holmes, a former fullback and tight end at Puckett High School, has reached the end zone as a Bulldog.
“The referee came up to me and said, ‘You don’t score much, do you, 44?’ ” Holmes said with a smile. “I was still holding the ball high and tight like I was running with it. I didn’t know what to do once I got to the end zone.
“My eyes got big when I caught it, and once I started running, I just didn’t want to let the kicker catch me.”
Holmes rumbled for his first touchdown since a 2009 high school game against Taylorsville High. Not bad for a plodder affectionately referred to as “Turtle” by his teammates.
“It was crazy,” Prescott said of Holmes’ return. “It was fun, exciting, kind of funny because it was Turtle. He made a great, great play and took off and made some people miss and showed some athleticism.”
Hill climbs the ladder
Tight end Brandon Hill, a fifth-year senior from West Lowndes High, had only one catch in the win, but it might have been MSU’s biggest of the game.
After Kentucky used a 10-yard touchdown run by Towles to cut MSU’s lead to 24-17 late in the third quarter, the Bulldogs ripped off a three-play drive that included a 22-yard run by Robinson, a 36-yard pass from Prescott to wide receiver Robert Johnson, and the 8-yard catch by Hill, Prescott’s only touchdown pass of the day and Hill’s first career touchdown.
“We have different guys stepping up, and we’ve had that all year,” Mullen said. “You look at a guy like Brandon Hill. You look at his numbers and you don’t think he has made that big of an impact, but when his number is called, when it’s his turn, he goes up and makes one heck of a touchdown catch. He had a great touchdown.”
No. 1 spot
For the first time in school history, MSU took the field as the No. 1 team in the country, a result of having leapt to the top of The Associated Press Top 25 and Amway Coaches Poll (USA Today) two weeks ago.
And while Mullen knew his players would have to adjust to having that target on their back, the sixth-year coach noticed a difference in the Bulldogs, particularly in the first half.
“These are young kids and I think they played a little tight at times during the game today,” Mullen said. “But we continued to find a way to make plays, continued to find a way to win the game. Hopefully, we can get all this ranking stuff behind us.”
Prescott noticed it, too.
“I don’t know if we were tight, but something was definitely different,” Prescott said. “We weren’t out there playing relaxed, playing the type of football we’ve been playing this year. Once we got to the second half, we got better.”
Heisman campaign continues
Prescott entered the game as the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, given annually to college football’s best player. Although MSU tailback Josh Robinson stole the show with his 198-yard, two-touchdown performance, Prescott did little to slow his Heisman momentum by going 18 of 33 for 216 yards and a touchdown. He also had 16 carries for 88 yards and two scores. It was Prescott’s third-straight game with at least two rushing touchdowns.
Asked about his Heisman probability after the game, Prescott declined to talk about it. “We are 7-0, 4-0 in the SEC,” Prescott said. “That’s all I’m worried about.”
Taking his Towles
The loss was a coming-out party for Towles. A redshirt sophomore, Towles passed for a career-high 390 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 23 carries for 76 yards and two more scores.
“I said it all week, maybe now people will start to believe me that this guy is a heck of an athlete,” Mullen said of Towles. “He’s an outstanding young quarterback.”
Taking precautions
Meeting with the media after the game, Prescott walked into the visitor’s interview room wearing a protective boot on his left ankle.
The junior quarterback was unconcerned.
“It’s just a precaution,” Prescott said. “I’m fine.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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