Saturday, September 22
Lexington, Ky.
6:00 PM CT
Mississippi State
3-1 , 0-1
7
at
28
Kentucky
4-0 , 2-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Mississippi State
0
7
0
0
7
Kentucky
0
7
7
14
28
Kentucky Upends No. 14 Bulldogs 28-7 in Lexington
September 22, 2018 | Football
by Caleb Garner, Graduate Assistant/Communications
LEXINGTON, Ky. – A strong ground game by Kentucky was difficult to overcome for No. 14 Mississippi State on Saturday night, as the Bulldogs dropped a 28-7 decision to the Wildcats at Kroger Field.
MSU (3-1, 0-1 SEC) struck first on a one-yard rush around the right edge by Nick Fitzgerald midway through the second quarter, but UK (4-0, 1-0) rode the legs of Benny Snell on its way to scoring 28 unanswered points - all on Snell rushes - pulling away late with two fourth-quarter scores. State's scoring drive was its longest of the season in terms of plays and time of possession--15 plays for 80 yards over 8:17.
"(On that drive), we did the things we needed to do—we stayed ahead of the sticks," head coach Joe Moorhead said. "We had a good mix of run and pass to get down to the red zone and the goal line and Nick was able to punch it in. We're certainly capable of that, and we just didn't see enough of it throughout the day."
State committed 16 penalties for 139 yards on the night, while finding great difficulty establishing its normally potent run game against a Wildcat defense that held the Bulldogs to just 56 yards on the ground and 201 yards overall.
Defensively, the Bulldogs were able to apply pressure on the Wildcats' backfield, tallying 10 tackles for loss, led by a pair from Braxton Hoyett. Montez Sweat also continued to establish his presence in opposing backfields with 1.5 of MSU's three sacks on the night. Erroll Thompson led State with 7 total tackles. Brian Cole added an interception late in the contest—his first as a Bulldog.
After Fitzgerald's touchdown, the Wildcats evened it up with a two-yard score by Snell late in the first half to make it a 7-7 score at the half.
UK took the lead for good with just over six minutes left in the third quarter when Snell found pay dirt from a yard out. Fourth-quarter scores from 36 and 23 yards capped off Snell's night to close it out.
Snell led all rushers with 165 yards on 25 touches and all four Wildcat scores on the night.
Through the air, Fitzgerald was 16-of-32 passing for 145 yards and an interception. Osirus Mitchell led all receivers with a game-high six catches for 65 yards.
"You can't let the same game beat you twice," Moorhead said. "You have to have a short memory. Everything that we want to achieve as a team is still in front of us. We have our goals and we have two choices: either lay down on the mat and get counted out or stand up, dust yourself off and get back in the middle of the ring. We'll get back in the middle of the ring."
Next Up For MSU …
MSU now returns home next Saturday, Sept. 29, to continue conference action by hosting Florida (3-1, 1-1 SEC). It will be the 55th meeting between the Bulldogs and Gators all-time. The game is set to kickoff at 5:00 p.m. CT at Davis Wade Stadium and will be televised by ESPN.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – A strong ground game by Kentucky was difficult to overcome for No. 14 Mississippi State on Saturday night, as the Bulldogs dropped a 28-7 decision to the Wildcats at Kroger Field.
MSU (3-1, 0-1 SEC) struck first on a one-yard rush around the right edge by Nick Fitzgerald midway through the second quarter, but UK (4-0, 1-0) rode the legs of Benny Snell on its way to scoring 28 unanswered points - all on Snell rushes - pulling away late with two fourth-quarter scores. State's scoring drive was its longest of the season in terms of plays and time of possession--15 plays for 80 yards over 8:17.
"(On that drive), we did the things we needed to do—we stayed ahead of the sticks," head coach Joe Moorhead said. "We had a good mix of run and pass to get down to the red zone and the goal line and Nick was able to punch it in. We're certainly capable of that, and we just didn't see enough of it throughout the day."
State committed 16 penalties for 139 yards on the night, while finding great difficulty establishing its normally potent run game against a Wildcat defense that held the Bulldogs to just 56 yards on the ground and 201 yards overall.
Defensively, the Bulldogs were able to apply pressure on the Wildcats' backfield, tallying 10 tackles for loss, led by a pair from Braxton Hoyett. Montez Sweat also continued to establish his presence in opposing backfields with 1.5 of MSU's three sacks on the night. Erroll Thompson led State with 7 total tackles. Brian Cole added an interception late in the contest—his first as a Bulldog.
After Fitzgerald's touchdown, the Wildcats evened it up with a two-yard score by Snell late in the first half to make it a 7-7 score at the half.
UK took the lead for good with just over six minutes left in the third quarter when Snell found pay dirt from a yard out. Fourth-quarter scores from 36 and 23 yards capped off Snell's night to close it out.
Snell led all rushers with 165 yards on 25 touches and all four Wildcat scores on the night.
Through the air, Fitzgerald was 16-of-32 passing for 145 yards and an interception. Osirus Mitchell led all receivers with a game-high six catches for 65 yards.
"You can't let the same game beat you twice," Moorhead said. "You have to have a short memory. Everything that we want to achieve as a team is still in front of us. We have our goals and we have two choices: either lay down on the mat and get counted out or stand up, dust yourself off and get back in the middle of the ring. We'll get back in the middle of the ring."
Next Up For MSU …
MSU now returns home next Saturday, Sept. 29, to continue conference action by hosting Florida (3-1, 1-1 SEC). It will be the 55th meeting between the Bulldogs and Gators all-time. The game is set to kickoff at 5:00 p.m. CT at Davis Wade Stadium and will be televised by ESPN.
Team Stats
MS
UK
Total Yards
201
300
Pass Yards
145
71
Rushing Yards
56
229
Penalty Yards
139
42
1st Downs
11
18
3rd Downs
7
3
4th Downs
0
1
TOP
29:03
30:57
2nd Quarter
MS 7, UK 0
MS - Nick Fitzgerald 1 yd run (Jace Christmann kick), 15 plays, 80 yards, TOP 8:17
MS 7, UK 7
UK - Benny Snell 2 yd run (Miles Butler kick), 6 plays, 47 yards, TOP 1:25
3rd Quarter
MS 7, UK 14
UK - Benny Snell 1 yd run (Miles Butler kick), 11 plays, 92 yards, TOP 5:35
4th Quarter
MS 7, UK 21
UK - Benny Snell 36 yd run (Miles Butler kick), 1 plays, 36 yards, TOP 0:09
MS 7, UK 28
UK - Benny Snell 23 yd run (Miles Butler kick), 5 plays, 40 yards, TOP 2:54
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
16
TD
0
YDS
145
INT
1
Players Mentioned
S
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