Mississippi State wide receiver Austin Williams knows there’s plenty of blame to go around for the Bulldogs’ lethargic offensive performance last year at Kentucky.

“It was total,” the redshirt senior said Tuesday. “It was all phases. It wasn’t one person or one group. We all just didn’t step up and do our job.”

Those lapses led to zero offensive points in a 24-2 loss in Lexington, a third-quarter safety saving the Bulldogs from a shutout. K.J. Costello threw four interceptions, Will Rogers threw two more, and the six turnovers did in the Bulldogs.

But that was last season.

“Watching the film, I feel like we’re a completely new offense this year,” Williams said.

The Bulldogs (4-3, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) will have to prove it at 6 p.m. Saturday against the No. 12-ranked Wildcats (6-1, 4-1) at Davis Wade Stadium.

Mississippi State ranks No. 50 in the country in total offense but has shown its Air Raid attack can move the ball against any team, leading to wins against the likes of then-No. 15 Texas A&M and North Carolina State, which fell from the AP Top 25 this week after a loss at Miami.

That will have to be the case Saturday night against a Kentucky team with only one loss: a 30-13 defeat at No. 1 Georgia on Oct. 16. The Wildcats’ defense is among the top 25 in the country.

But Williams said the Bulldogs always have “a chip on their shoulder,” and they’ll hope to turn it into plenty of points come Saturday’s game.

“Last year, a lot of things didn’t go the way we wanted, so this year we’re going to bounce back and do everything we can to make the most of our opportunities,” Williams said.

Leach mum on IHL vaccine mandate

The board of trustees of the Institutions for Higher Learning, which governs Mississippi’s eight public universities — including Mississippi State — reversed course Monday and mandated COVID-19 vaccinations for their employees.

The decision follows an executive order from President Joe Biden in September mandating vaccines for all federal employees, and it extends to coaches, too. Barring a religious or medical exemption, Leach and his staff will have to be fully vaccinated by Dec. 8.

Nick Rolovich, the head coach at Washington State — Leach’s former school — was terminated last week for his refusal to follow vaccine mandates for WSU and the state of Washington.

Leach has notably declined to discuss vaccination, refusing to share the vaccination rate within the Bulldogs’ program this summer.

“If I was or I wasn’t, I wouldn’t share it with you,” Leach told Blake Toppmeyer of the USA TODAY Network during SEC Football Media Days when asked if he was vaccinated.

Leach said Monday he had no comment on IHL’s decision.

“The whole COVID vaccine thing bounces all over the place,” he said. “That’d be like commenting on each hit in a tennis match.”

Baseball team to be honored

Mississippi State’s baseball team will be honored at halftime of Saturday’s contest for winning the 2021 College World Series, bringing home the first team national championship in school history.

The victorious Bulldogs will receive their championship rings during the ceremony, and the football team will wear helmets emblazoned with the “M over S” baseball logo.

Defensive tackle Cameron Young said the baseball team’s national title is “big motivation” for his own squad and that having the victors in the house will be important.

“Just having their presence is going to be big,” Young said.

With a night game at Davis Wade Stadium and the halftime ceremony drawing a big crowd, Williams said he hopes Mississippi State can feed off the energy in Starkville against the Wildcats.

“I’m sure it’ll be rocking in there, and we’ll do our best to keep the momentum — keep it on our side,” Williams said.

Linebacker Groce no longer with team

Second-year linebacker Rodney Groce Jr. is no longer listed on the Bulldogs’ roster, and Leach confirmed Monday that Groce is no longer part of the team.

Groce played sparingly in 2021 but notably committed a pivotal “leaping the shield” penalty that contributed to Mississippi State’s 28-25 loss to LSU.

The linebacker from Pleasant Grove, Alabama, played in one game in 2020. Groce was a three-star prospect out of high school.

Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.