Notes To Know vs. Kentucky

STARKVILLE - It's homecoming for Mississippi State this week as the Bulldogs welcome No. 12 Kentucky to campus.

Here are a few notes to know before the 'Dogs and 'Cats collide on Saturday at 6 p.m. on SEC Network.

Notes to Know

Mississippi State has won 11 straight homecoming games. The Bulldogs have a 56-22-3 record all-time on homecoming.
The all-time series between Mississippi State and Kentucky is tied 24-24 with the Bulldogs holding the edge 14-6 in Starkville.
The home team has won the last four meetings in the series. The last time the road team claimed victory was when MSU won, 45-31, in Lexington in 2014.
State has won nine of the last 12 meetings against the Wildcats.
UK has not won in Starkville since 2008 and has dropped five straight at Davis Wade Stadium. Wildcats' coach Mark Stoops is winless (0-4) in Starkville.
State has played Kentucky every year since 1990 with the Bulldogs holding a 19-12 advantage over that span.
The Wildcats have not won back-to-back games against Mississippi State since 2005-06.
Mike Leach was Kentucky's offensive coordinator during the 1997-98 seasons and developed future No. 1 pick Tim Couch during his tenure there.
During his two seasons in Starkville, Leach is tied for fifth in the nation with two wins over top 15 opponents.
MSU senior associate athletic director Dave Emerick is a Kentucky graduate and served as a football operations intern for the Wildcats from 1997-2001.
State held Vanderbilt to only 42 plays last week. The Bulldogs became just the third FBS program since 2000 to hold an opponent to 45 or fewer snaps in a game.
Will Rogers leads the country in career completions per game (33.1) and career completion percentage (71.4).
Rogers was selected to the Davey O'Brien Award Great 8 for the second time this season after throwing for 384 yards and four touchdowns in a win at Vanderbilt last week. He is also in the running for the 2021 Davey O'Brien Award and fans can vote for him to be a semifinalist here.
Rogers has completed passes to 14 different receivers this fall and tossed TDs to seven different players.
In 13 career starts, Rogers has only thrown 10 interceptions despite attempting 672 passes (1.5 percent) over that span.
State has held its opponents under the century mark on the ground four times this season and only surrendered 101 rushing yards in the season opener against Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs rank third in the Southeastern Conference and 11^th nationally in rushing defense, giving up 92.9 yards per game.
Mississippi State is one of only two SEC schools and seven FBS teams to allow fewer than five rushing touchdowns this fall.
Emmanuel Forbes made his eighth career interception last week. Forbes is the SEC's active leader in career picks and is also tied for the FBS lead since the start of his career last year.
Freshmen and sophomores have accounted for 19 of Mississippi State's 24 touchdowns this year.
The Bulldogs rank second nationally in yards after the catch. Four players are averaging over 6.5 yards after the catch in 2021: Dillon Johnson (7.2), Jo'quavious Marks (7.0), Christian Ford (6.5) and Lideatrick Grifffin (6.5).
Marks has hauled in a pass in all 18 games of his career. Malik Heath, Makai Polk, Jaden Walley and Austin Williams all have a streak of 16 contests with a catch while Jamire Calvin has caught balls in 12 consecutive games.
Polk leads the SEC and is tied for fourth in the FBS with 8.3 catches per game.
The Bulldogs have surrendered 99 first downs, which is the second-fewest among SEC teams.
Brandon Ruiz has made 128 straight extra points.
The Bulldogs lead the league in passing yards averaging 374.7 yards per game.

Players Mentioned

Jamire Calvin

Emmanuel Forbes

Scoobie Ford

Malik Heath

Dillon Johnson

Jo'Quavious Marks

Makai Polk

Will Rogers

Brandon Ruiz

Jaden Walley

Austin Williams

Mississippi State University Athletics