No. 16 Mississippi State (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) travels to No. 22 Kentucky (4-2, 1-2 SEC) at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
Here’s which team has the advantage at each position.
Quarterback
If Kentucky quarterback Will Levis were fully healthy, the matchup between him and Mississippi State’s Will Rogers might be closer. But Levis missed last week’s game against South Carolina with a foot injury after dislocating his finger the prior week against Ole Miss. Even if he plays, a limited Levis is no match for a fully healthy Rogers, who has thrown 22 touchdown passes against just three interceptions this season. Kentucky backup Kaiya Sheron isn’t on Rogers’ level, either.
Edge: Mississippi State
Running back
Kentucky returned senior running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. for its matchup with Ole Miss, and Rodriguez has run for 198 yards in two games. Kavosiey Smoke leads the team in rushing with 269 yards on more than 5 yards per carry. Mississippi State, for its part, has two talented backs in Dillon Johnson and Jo’quavious Marks. Johnson ran for 100 yards against Arkansas, becoming Mike Leach’s first 100-yard rusher at MSU.
Edge: Kentucky
Wide receiver/tight end
Even after a quiet game against Arkansas, Rara Thomas leads Mississippi State with 368 receiving yards. Caleb Ducking is second on the team with 322, while Rufus Harvey has 271 and Lideatrick Griffin has 239. Both Jaden Walley and Austin Williams got more involved against the Razorbacks, too. Kentucky is led by Virginia Tech transfer Tayvion Robinson, who has 392 receiving yards; freshmen Dane Key (291) and Barion Brown (288) have been impressive. Both Key and Robinson were injured against South Carolina, though.
Edge: Even
Offensive line
Through six games, Kentucky quarterbacks have been beat up. The Wildcats have allowed a whopping 25 sacks already. Additionally, Kentucky hasn’t run well as a team; the Wildcats average just 2.7 yards per attempt on the ground. Mississippi State did not allow a sack against either Texas A&M or Arkansas, and the Bulldogs are running for 4.2 yards per carry.
Edge: Mississippi State
Defensive line
Kentucky has sacked opposing quarterbacks nine times, although opponents average 4 yards per rushing attempt against the Cats. Mississippi State has been less successful against the run, giving up 4.5 yards per carry, but the Bulldogs have gotten pressure fairly consistently and have sacked opposing quarterbacks 14 times.
Edge: Mississippi State
Linebacker
Former Ole Miss linebacker Jacquez Jones was not listed on Kentucky’s depth chart Monday due to injury. WILL linebacker DeAndre Square leads the team with 41 tackles, and senior Jordan Wright has 31. For the Bulldogs, Nathaniel Watson will play a full game this time after missing half of the Arkansas tilt due to targeting against Texas A&M. Tyrus Wheat and Jett Johnson are always impactful.
Edge: Mississippi State
Secondary
Opponents pass for just 174.2 yards against Kentucky, including a 6.33 yards per attempt average. Mississippi State’s yards per attempt average (6.24) is slightly better, but teams pass more against the Bulldogs, leading to an average of 219.5 passing yards allowed per game. Kentucky’s secondary has the 11th-best passer rating against in the country, while MSU’s is 19th. The Bulldogs are tied for 14th nationally with eight interceptions, including four by cornerback Emmanuel Forbes alone.
Edge: Even
Special teams
Like Mississippi State, Kentucky is less than perfect in its kicking game. The Wildcats are among the teams to have missed an extra point, although MSU has missed four of them to Kentucky’s one; the Bulldogs are 4 of 6 on field goals, while Kentucky is 7 of 10. Thanks to Brown’s dynamic speed, Kentucky is second in the nation in kickoff return average; Mississippi State is right behind the Wildcats at third nationally.
Edge: Even
Starters
Kentucky
Offense
QB 7 Will Levis Sr.
RB 24 Chris Rodriguez Jr., Sr.
WR 9 Tayvion Robinson Sr.
WR 6 Dane Key Fr.
WR 2 Barion Brown Fr.
TE 80 Brenden Bates Sr.
LT 68 Kenneth Horsey Sr.
LG 62 Jager Burton Fr.
C 75 Eli Cox Jr.
RG 79 Tashawn Manning Sr.
RT 77 Jeremy Flax Jr.
Defense
DE 90 Tre’vonn Rybka So.
NG 52 Justin Rogers Jr.
DT 8 Octavious Oxendine Jr.
OLB 13 J.J. Weaver Jr.
MLB 54 D’Eryk Jackson Jr.
WLB 5 DeAndre Square Sr.
SLB 15 Jordan Wright Sr.
CB 1 Keidron Smith Sr.
SS 6 Tyrell Aijan Sr.
FS 25 Jordan Lovett Fr.
CB 14 Carrington Valentine Jr.
Special teams
K 96 Matt Ruffolo Sr.
P 94 Colin Goodfellow Sr.
Mississippi State
Offense
QB 2 Will Rogers Jr.
RB 7 Jo’quavious Marks Jr.
-or 23 Dillon Johnson Jr.
-or 22 Simeon Price Fr.
WR 0 Rara Thomas So.
WR 85 Austin Williams Gr.
WR 82 Rufus Harvey So.
WR 4 Caleb Ducking Sr.
LT 66 Nick Jones Jr.
LG 64 Steven Losoya Jr.
C 63 LaQuinston Sharp Gr.
RG 57 Cole Smith Sr.
RT 58 Kameron Jones Jr.
-or 76 Albert Reese IV Fr.
Defense
DE 6 Jordan Davis Gr.
NT 93 Cameron Young Sr.
DT 5 Randy Charlton Sr.
SLB 2 Tyrus Wheat Sr.
MLB 14 Nathaniel Watson Sr.
WLB 44 Jett Johnson Gr.
CB 13 Emmanuel Forbes Jr.
S 8 Jackie Matthews Gr.
S 19 Collin Duncan Sr.
S 0 Jalen Green Sr.
CB 3 Decamerion Richardson Jr.
Special teams
K 89 Ben Raybon Gr.
P 56 Archer Trafford Sr.
-or 88 George Georgopoulos Gr.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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