For most of this week many prognosticators thought Mississippi State would beat Kentucky. A strong team from the vaunted SEC West against a traditionally lower-tier team from the SEC East. They couldn’t have been more wrong, however, as the Wildcats dominated the Bulldogs, especially in the second half.
Four Takeaways From Kentucky’s Blowout Of Mississippi State
After trailing 7-0, Mark Stoops’ club scored 28 unanswered points to win 28-7. Let’s look at Four Takeaways From Kentucky’s Blowout Of Mississippi State.
Benny Snell Is A Heisman Contender
Last season against the Bulldogs, Snell had his worst regular season game rushing for 18 yards. After telling reporters he could run on anyone he more than backed it up.
The junior ran for 165 yards and four touchdowns against one of the best front sevens in football. In addition his four scores gave him 39 for his career. This puts him into first place on Kentucky’s all-time touchdown list passing Randall Cobb.
The smoke from the 🎆 has yet to clear but people in Painstville said they heard the roar from Kroger Field as @benny_snell set a new career UK TD record! pic.twitter.com/lbcGUIWa5r
— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) September 23, 2018
With eight games to go Snell needs less than 900 yards to break Sonny Collins‘ all-time rushing mark. If he keeps up this pace he will be Heisman finalist in New York in December.
BENNY FOR HEISMAN
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) September 23, 2018
Kentucky’s Defense Is Legit
Defensive coordinator Matt House’s unit has played well all season. They took it to the next level tonight.
With the exception of the one scoring drive the Wildcats totally dominated Mississippi State. Not only did they hold them 43 points below their scoring average but they totally shut down the Bulldog offense.
Josh Allen showed why he is ranked as the number one outside linebacker by ESPN’s Todd McShay. He had one of three Wildcat sacks on the night, two tackles for loss and was constantly pressuring Nick Fitzgerald the entire evening.
Midway through the third quarter with Kentucky leading 14-7, Tyrell Ajian picked off a Fitzgerald pass setting up Snell’s third touchdown. From that point on Mississippi State never crossed midfield again.
Dominating The Line Of Scrimmage
During our preview of this game we mentioned for Kentucky to have a chance they had to dominate the line of scrimmage. That is exactly what the Wildcats did.
For the game Kentucky held Mississippi State to 201 yards of total offense. Coming into Saturday the Bulldogs were averaging 587 yards per game. Furthermore, the Wildcats held them to only 57 yards rushing, 256 less than what they were averaging.
On the other side of the ball Kentucky ran for 229 yards as the offensive line did a great job against the vaunted Bulldog front seven. If the Cats continue to run the ball like this it could be a big season for Kentucky.
As we look at the final of Four Takeaways From Kentucky’s Blowout Of Mississippi State we look to the future.
On The Cusp Of Something Big
Kentucky is now 4-0 for the first time since 2008 and 2-0 in the SEC for the first time since 1977. Should they win the remaining games they are supposed to, Stoops’ Troops are realistically looking at the first eight win regular season since 1984. A New Year’s bowl game is certainly not out of the question. That would be the school’s first since the 1999 Outback Bowl.
Next week the Cats host South Carolina, a team they have defeated four straight years. A win over the Gamecocks means even more history. It would be the first time Kentucky has won five in a row against an SEC team other than Vanderbilt.
True Blue Fans can worry about next week on Monday, right now they are savoring a dominating win over a Top 15 club. Most assuredly the Cats will crack the Top 25 this week as well.
Kentucky just wrecked No. 14 Mississippi State, 28-7, and both Benny Snell and Josh Allen looked like arguably the best players in the SEC at their position. Cats will be ranked on Monday. And, I mean, you gotta call them the top challenger to Georgia in the East.
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) September 23, 2018
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
