Of the 116 school records Leach's offense set at Kentucky, 39 still stand today.
Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Back To The Bluegrass
October 07, 2020 | Football
Looking back at Mike Leach’s Wildcat records
STARKVILLE – When Mississippi State upset then-No. 6 LSU in its first game of the season, analysts around the nation commented on how Mike Leach's Air Raid offense had just proven it could work in the SEC. The numbers spoke for themselves, but there was just one problem: The Air Raid has been in the SEC before.
Back in the late 1990s when Leach was coaching at Kentucky, the Wildcats gave the conference its first taste of the scheme.
Now Leach returns to Lexington for the first time since he left for Oklahoma following the 1998 season. And he's bringing back the same offense that set 116 Kentucky school records in just two years.
"I'm looking forward to going back to Kentucky," Leach said on Monday. "In football, you know, you get asked the memory lane question quite a bit. Not a lot of time to walk down memory lane, but it'll be good to see Lexington again."
Leach may not have time to revisit the record books, but we do.
Of those records his offense set in 1997 and 1998, 39 still stand today. It's worth taking another look at what he accomplished in blue and white before he returns wearing maroon.
At the start of the 1997 campaign, Kentucky did not list an offensive coordinator. After upsetting then-No. 22 Alabama, Leach was promoted to the position. In 1998, while working with quarterback Tim Couch, the eventual No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft, Leach's system led the SEC in both scoring and total offense.
"It was very hard to deal with and it was very out of the ordinary from what everyone else was doing," Bob Stoops, the man who would hire Leach away to Oklahoma, told ESPN this week. "They gave me more trouble and more headaches as a defensive coordinator than maybe anyone else we played.
"They led the league in about every offensive category," Stoops continued. "Not just passing, but scoring, time of possession, third-down conversions, all of the things you really look at, and these guys were first or second in about every category, without having the best players."
In both seasons, Craig Yeast led the conference in receiving while Couch led the league in total offense. Couch's 4,151 yards in 1998 were an SEC single-season record that stood until 2007. His yards per game mark (377.4) remained unbroken until 2012.
The 1998 campaign also saw Couch post the top two single-game completions marks in conference history (47 and 44) and a single-season record 400 total completions. That mark stood until last season when LSU's Joe Burrow completed 402 passes in three additional games.
Leach has already added his name to another campus' record book. In his first two games with the Bulldogs, State has already seen the SEC individual single-game passing yardage record fall (623) along with the school record for single-game completions (43) and attempts (60) by both a team and individual.
"You're just in the trenches trying to improve every day," Leach said. "You're most-involved in practice. Go to practice, watch film, try to improve, try to improve. From that standpoint, in the thick of it you're not very conscious of it."
On Saturday, MSU could surpass 1,000 yards through the air faster than ever before. The Bulldogs need just 64 yards. Their best three-game start to date? 964 yards in 2003.
Back in the late 1990s when Leach was coaching at Kentucky, the Wildcats gave the conference its first taste of the scheme.
Now Leach returns to Lexington for the first time since he left for Oklahoma following the 1998 season. And he's bringing back the same offense that set 116 Kentucky school records in just two years.
"I'm looking forward to going back to Kentucky," Leach said on Monday. "In football, you know, you get asked the memory lane question quite a bit. Not a lot of time to walk down memory lane, but it'll be good to see Lexington again."
Leach may not have time to revisit the record books, but we do.
Of those records his offense set in 1997 and 1998, 39 still stand today. It's worth taking another look at what he accomplished in blue and white before he returns wearing maroon.
At the start of the 1997 campaign, Kentucky did not list an offensive coordinator. After upsetting then-No. 22 Alabama, Leach was promoted to the position. In 1998, while working with quarterback Tim Couch, the eventual No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft, Leach's system led the SEC in both scoring and total offense.
"It was very hard to deal with and it was very out of the ordinary from what everyone else was doing," Bob Stoops, the man who would hire Leach away to Oklahoma, told ESPN this week. "They gave me more trouble and more headaches as a defensive coordinator than maybe anyone else we played.
"They led the league in about every offensive category," Stoops continued. "Not just passing, but scoring, time of possession, third-down conversions, all of the things you really look at, and these guys were first or second in about every category, without having the best players."
In both seasons, Craig Yeast led the conference in receiving while Couch led the league in total offense. Couch's 4,151 yards in 1998 were an SEC single-season record that stood until 2007. His yards per game mark (377.4) remained unbroken until 2012.
The 1998 campaign also saw Couch post the top two single-game completions marks in conference history (47 and 44) and a single-season record 400 total completions. That mark stood until last season when LSU's Joe Burrow completed 402 passes in three additional games.
Leach has already added his name to another campus' record book. In his first two games with the Bulldogs, State has already seen the SEC individual single-game passing yardage record fall (623) along with the school record for single-game completions (43) and attempts (60) by both a team and individual.
"You're just in the trenches trying to improve every day," Leach said. "You're most-involved in practice. Go to practice, watch film, try to improve, try to improve. From that standpoint, in the thick of it you're not very conscious of it."
On Saturday, MSU could surpass 1,000 yards through the air faster than ever before. The Bulldogs need just 64 yards. Their best three-game start to date? 964 yards in 2003.
FOOTBALL | 2026 Spring Practice Media Session - Jeff Lebby
Thursday, April 16
FOOTBALL | 2026 Spring Practice Media Session - Kamario Taylor
Saturday, April 11
FOOTBALL | 2026 Spring Practice Media Session - Kelley Jones
Saturday, April 11
FOOTBALL | 2026 Spring Practice Media Session - Jeff Lebby
Saturday, April 11