Mississippi State needed more drives like its third-quarter touchdown possession Saturday at Kentucky.
The Bulldogs drove 75 yards in eight plays to take a 10-6 lead over the Wildcats, scoring on a clutch fourth-and goal play.
The rest of the game wasn’t so simple.
What coach Mike Leach termed a “variety of things” — including penalties, poor protection and forced passes — limited MSU to just that one offensive touchdown. Kentucky, meanwhile, found the end zone on offense three times in a 27-17 win.
“We never got in a rhythm and never played together,” Leach said.
Once, the Bulldogs did. Here’s how Mississippi State found its way to pay dirt for the only time Saturday.
Play No. 1: First and 10 at the Mississippi State 25. MSU took over after Kentucky’s Matt Ruffolo made a 37-yard field goal to give the Wildcats a 6-3 lead. With four wide receivers in the formation and running back Jo’quavious Marks to the left of quarterback Will Rogers, Caleb Ducking gets the target on a comeback route on the outside. Rogers finds Ducking at the 33, and the redshirt senior wideout sidesteps a tackler and picks up a first down on a 12-yard gain. Not counting Marks (seven catches), Ducking was Rogers’ top target with five receptions Saturday.
Play No. 2: First and 10 at the MSU 37. Ducking is free on a crossing route from right to left, but Rogers opts to check the ball down to Marks instead. The junior running back slips between linebackers DeAndre Square and Jordan Wright to get past the first-down marker. In addition to his seven receptions, Marks had a team-high 60 yards for the Bulldogs.
Play No. 3: First and 10 at the MSU 48. Mississippi State goes up tempo as Rogers takes the snap with 30 seconds left on the play clock. He finds a hole in the Wildcats’ zone as graduate receiver Austin Williams is waiting at the numbers well into Kentucky territory. Williams, who made two great catches in the previous game against Arkansas, makes the grab at the Wildcats’ 32-yard line and is tackled by defensive back Carrington Valentine four more yards downfield.
Play No. 4: First and 10 at the Kentucky 28. Mississippi State busts out its split backs formation, but the Bulldogs still don’t run the football. With Ducking in motion from right to left, Marks appears to be ready to block but instead dances out of the backfield and takes a short toss from Rogers. The running back makes it across the first-down marker easily and is eventually spun down at the Kentucky 9-yard line. Mississippi State’s first four plays on the drive have all gone for double-digit gains.
Play No. 5: First and goal at the Kentucky 9. Mississippi State enters the red zone for the first — and ultimately only — time in the game. The Bulldogs are the second-most efficient team at scoring touchdowns in the country, behind only Ohio State, but their first play in the goal-to-go situation doesn’t do anything to help. Seeing all four wide receivers blanketed, Rogers fires a checkdown pass meant for Marks, but the throw is off target and incomplete.
Play No. 6: Second and goal at the Kentucky 9. Rogers backs out of a collapsing pocket and throws another checkdown to Marks at the 10-yard line. The running back gets past the 5 and tries to reach the ball over the goal line, but he is brought down by Square at the 1. Fifty-six of Marks’ 60 receiving yards Saturday were yards after the catch, as were 129 of Rogers’ 203 passing yards.
Play No. 7: Third and goal at the Kentucky 1. Mississippi State runs the ball for the first time on the drive, but like it did on two key fourth downs against LSU, a shotgun run is sniffed out by the defense. Nose tackle Justin Rogers easily overpowers center Steven Losoya and jumps on Marks in the backfield. Marks gets back to the line of scrimmage but can’t punch the ball in. He had just five carries Saturday, and Dillon Johnson had only two. On Monday, Leach downplayed the significance of Mississippi State’s decision to move away from the run. “We didn’t move the ball very good this week, and I don’t think it had much to do with rushing attempts,” he said.
Play No. 8: Fourth and goal at the Kentucky 1. With only one yard to get, Mississippi State decides not to settle for three points. The Bulldogs line up with four wide receivers and Marks to Rogers’ right, but the running back doesn’t get the ball this time. MSU runs a similar play to the one it used for a fourth-down touchdown against Arizona on Sept. 10: a quick pass from Rogers to Williams, who turns outside to look for the ball and makes the catch before being bowled over by defensive back Tyrell Aijan. The touchdown and ensuing extra point put the Bulldogs up by four, but their lead didn’t last long. Kentucky scored on its next two drives before going on to win.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 31 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 31 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
Join the Discussion