Kentucky vs. Mississippi State: Game Grades, Analysis for Bulldogs and Wildcats

On the legs of Josh Robinson, the Mississippi Bulldogs were able to avoid the upset and defeat the upstart Kentucky Wildcats by a score of 45-31 on Saturday. 

The talented back rushed for 198 yards on only 23 carries. His ability to break tackles and make people miss in space was truly spectacular. He and Dak Prescott combined for 286 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. 

Kentucky quarterback Patrick Towles played exceptionally well in the losing effort. He went 24-of-43 for 390 yards and two touchdowns. He also led the Wildcats with 76 yards on the ground, in addition to two rushing touchdowns. 

A full box score can be found here, courtesy of NCAA.com. Check out first-half and final game grades for the Bulldogs and Wildcats. Additional analysis for positional units will also be addressed. 

Position Units	First-Half Grades	Final Grades
Passing Offense	C	B
Pass Defense	C+	D
Rushing Offense	B+	A
Rush Defense	A	A-
Special Teams	C	B
Coaching	B	B

Mississippi State Bulldogs Analysis

Passing Offense

After starting 5-of-5, Prescott had some issues with accuracy. Credit Kentucky's defensive line for creating pressure. The presence of Bud Dupree did force an errant throw that led to an interception. Outside of a long completion to Robert Johnson, there wasn't much of an attempt to stretch the field vertically. 

On the day, Prescott finished an efficient 18-of-33 for 216 yards and a touchdown. 

Pass Defense

It wasn't a banner day for the unit. Heading into this contest, Mississippi State ranked dead last in defending against the pass. On Saturday, the secondary allowed 401 yards through the air. 

Two missed tackles led to a 67-yard touchdown. Kentucky also accrued pass plays of 55 and 58 yards. MSU attempted to press its corners up against the young UK receivers, but this didn't prove to be too effective. Simply put, it was a struggle. 

Rushing Offense

Mississippi State dominated the line of scrimmage up front on run plays. As a whole, the Bulldogs rushed for 326 yards on 51 carries. As mentioned above, Robinson was absolutely brilliant. Before the hit to Prescott's knee, the quarterback also had an impact rushing the football. He finished with 88 yards on the ground. 

The unit did have some problems in pass protection. Credit the staff for making some adjustments—which included chipping Dupree with a running back or tight end in order to slow down the elite defender. 

Rush Defense

The Mississippi State defensive line was dominant at times. Towles was sacked seven times on the afternoon. In terms of bottling up the Kentucky running backs, the Bulldogs held the group to only 27 yards on nine carries. 

MSU did get gashed at times by Kentucky's quarterback. The signal-caller picked up yards on both draws and scrambles. Outside of a 48-yard run by Towles, it was a great afternoon by the defensive front seven. 

Special Teams

A 42-yard miss by Logan Cooke was the only real blemish on the afternoon. It was a peculiar choice by the coaching staff to insert Cooke, after fellow kicker Evan Sobiesk nailed a 26-yard kick earlier in the game. 

The 61-yard onside kick return for touchdown by linebacker Christian Holmes iced the game for the Bulldogs. 

Coaching

Initially, the play-calling was a bit perplexing. MSU opted to throw the football to set up the run, and as a result, Prescott wasn't overly effective. However, the ground game became the focus in the second half. Unsurprisingly, the Bulldogs began to gain traction. 

It was a simple change in philosophy but one that was highly productive nonetheless. The decision to switch kickers was also a bit strange. 

In a statistic that can't be measured, the team demonstrated terrific resolve in winning the contest. The immense and newfound expectations placed on this team never became a burden. Similar to Dan Mullen's personality, the team remained calm, loose and determined.  

Position Units	First-Half Grades	Final Grades
Passing Offense	B+	A
Pass Defense	B+	B
Rushing Offense	C-	C-
Rush Defense	C	D
Special Teams	A	C-
Coaching	B+	B

Kentucky Wildcats Analysis

Passing Offense

In terms of quarterback play, Towles was fantastic. He displayed not only great arm strength and accuracy but also toughness, grit and precision. Throwing for 390 yards against the No. 1 team in the country is no easy feat by any stretch.

Heading into next year, don't be surprised if Towles is considered one of the better quarterbacks in the SEC. 

The receivers had a mixed day—and Ryan Timmons was a great example. After making a big 55-yard reception late in the game, he followed the play up with two consecutive drops on the same drive. Towles' numbers would have been even more impressive, had it not been for four to five drops from his receivers. 

Pass Defense

For the most part, the unit was solid. MSU didn't look to pepper UK's secondary with throws down the field, but Kentucky also didn't allow a passing play longer than 36 yards. 

It did a good job of pressing the Bulldogs receivers at the line of scrimmage and also tackled relatively well. Elite receiver De'Runnya Wilson was held to only two catches for 30 yards. 

Rushing Offense

It was an anemic effort by the corps of running backs. Without Boom Williams, UK lacked an explosive athlete in the backfield. Braylon Heard and Jojo Kemp combined for only 27 yards on eight carries. Heard also fumbled deep in UK territory.

Towles was the most effective runner on the afternoon. He led the team with 76 yards on 23 carries. However, Kentucky's offensive line was manhandled up front for the majority of the afternoon. It wasn't able to adequately open up holes necessary for yardage outside of Towles calling his own number and scrambling.

Rush Defense

The unit gave up 326 yards of rushing. Any way one slices it, this simply wasn't good enough. Tackling (or lack thereof) was the biggest issue when defending versus Robinson and Prescott. MSU's dynamic duo broke myriad arm tackles. Kentucky didn't wrap up nearly well enough. 

Against the pass, it did get a decent rush. Dupree flashed his immense ability at times, and UK did an adequate job of initially getting after the quarterback. Once MSU prioritized the run game, Kentucky's front seven began to tire. 

Special Teams

The coverage was solid across the board. However, the kicking game left a lot to be desired. Kicker Austin MacGinnis missed one of his two field-goal attempts. He also had a poor onside kick attempt—which was returned 61 yards for a touchdown. 

Against the No. 1 team in the nation, these types of mistakes cannot happen if an underdog is to pull off the upset. 

Coaching

Credit Mark Stoops and his staff for devising a very good scheme. In this contest, it was a matter of MSU being the more talented, experienced and deeper football team. 

Offensively, the team was explosive. Outside of a few dropped passes, this game could have gone down to the wire. Defensively, the staff did a great job of mixing up looks and making things difficult for Prescott in the pocket.

It's plainly evident this program is on the right track. With its franchise quarterback in tow, there's no telling how good this team can be heading into the next two years—especially if Stoops continues to recruit at a high level.