By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
Kentucky hasn’t had much success at Mississippi State and Wildcats coach Mark Stoops doesn’t have a logical explanation for his team’s inability to tame the Bulldogs in Starkville.
“I can’t put my finger on any one thing,” Stoops said. “There were times when we were down there and not really in a good game. There were times early on where we had a chance to steal one … there were other games that weren’t that good and they were a better football team than us. Then there’s other times when you name it (happened).”
The 12th-ranked Wildcats (6-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) return from a bye week Saturday to close out the first half of the season and can clinch at least a tie for second place in the SEC East with a win in their return to the field Saturday.
It will be a tough task, however. The Wildcats haven’t defeated the Bulldogs in Starkville since posting a 14-13 triumph in 2008. Kentucky used six interceptions to defeat the Bulldogs 24-2 a year ago at Kroger Field.
“I thought we played really poorly last year in that game,” Mississippi State coach Mike Leach said.
In his second season, Leach, former Kentucky offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, has found a quarterback (Will Rogers) who is comfortable with the “Air Raid” scheme and it has shown this season. The Bulldogs (4-3, 2-2) ran 86 plays and compiled more than 500 yards in a 45-6 win at Vanderbilt last week.
“Any time you face a team that throws the ball upwards of 60 times a game, it has your attention,” Stoops said. “Will (Rogers) is doing a really good job of running the offense.
“You can see his comfort level going higher and higher and getting rid of the football and not putting them in such negative situations as you would in the first year in a program with a young quarterback. You see him playing at a very high level and getting to where they want to be.”
Stoops doesn’t expect things to be as easy as they were last year in the pick-six frenzy that led to the lopsided victory over the Bulldogs. The Kentucky coach just wants his squad to end the recent string of bad luck in the land of cowbells.
“We are going down there in a hostile environment,” Stoops said. “We’ll take it any way we can get it.”
Leach, who gained national attention by talking about his disdain for Candy Corn following the win over the Commodores, has been impressed with the Wildcats, who opened the season with the best start with six straight victories for the first time since 1950.
“This is a really solid team,” the Mississippi State coach said. “They’re going to play hard. They’ve had some close ones that they’ve gotten out of — that’s the biggest thing. They are guys that play hard and play together.”
Stoops said his team’s biggest obstacle will be overcoming the crowd noise infiltrated by cowbells.
“I definitely think they are a factor,” Stoops said. “I’m still lobbying for some deal here. Get that deal going and blow a bunch of air horns or something the whole game. It’s a pretty good deal for them.”
Gametracker: Kentucky at Mississippi State, 7 p.m., Saturday, SEC Network, UK Radio Network.
Keith Taylor is the sports editor for Kentucky Today. Reach him at keith.taylor@kentuckytoday.com or via Twitter at keithtaylor21