{"id":54275,"date":"2023-11-06T15:00:30","date_gmt":"2023-11-06T20:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=54275"},"modified":"2023-11-05T21:22:03","modified_gmt":"2023-11-06T02:22:03","slug":"bulldogs-dropped-homecoming-to-kentucky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2023\/11\/06\/bulldogs-dropped-homecoming-to-kentucky\/","title":{"rendered":"Bulldogs Dropped Homecoming to Kentucky"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not much fun being a fan of Mississippi State these days. In every game of the last few weeks, there has been hope that a victory would be in the offing, but to no avail. The Arkansas victory started that hope, following losses to South Carolina, Alabama, and LSU. But this was Homecoming in Starkville. The 1998 SEC Western Division Champs were being honored. Kentucky hadn\u2019t won at Davis-Wade since 2008. Kentucky head coach Mark\u00a0Stoops<\/strong> had never won in Davis-Wade. The table was set for a feast for the Dawgs. Still, they couldn\u2019t muster more than three points as the Bulldogs dropped Homecoming to the Wildcats 24-3. Kentucky became bowl-eligible, but State is still two games away.<\/p>\n

Injuries have plagued State, especially in the last three weeks. However, there has been nothing more glaring than the injury to veteran record-breaking quarterback Will Rogers<\/a> and dual-threat running back Woody Marks<\/a>. A lot of hope went into the Vandy transfer Mike Wright<\/a> picking up for Rogers. He vanquished the Wildcats last year as quarterback for the Commodores, but couldn\u2019t muster more than 11 for 21, 78 yards, and one interception (a pick-six) passing against Kentucky. His long-regarded running ability only saw him run 11 times for 20 yards. On top of that, the defense is settling into some unsettling patterns.<\/p>\n

Defense is Played for Four Quarters<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In the previous game at Auburn, State fans saw their defense give up 24 points in the first half, only to allow three in the second. In this Kentucky game, history repeated itself. The Cats offense scored 21 points in the first half, only to muster three in the second. What is behind this pattern, only the coaching staff knows at this point, but they’re not talking.<\/p>\n

Granted, seven of the 24 points Kentucky scored were based on a pick-six handed up by Wright, but what of the other 17? These were the comments from head coach Zach Arnett<\/strong> following the Auburn game. \u201cYou can\u2019t win a football game playing a half of football,\u201d Arnett said.\u00a0\u201cI appreciate the guys\u2019 efforts in the second half, but I\u2019m not particularly interested in moral victories.\u00a0 We\u2019ve struggled to put a full game together all year, and that\u2019s my fault.\u201d Following the Kentucky game, there was no discussion of the\u00a0defense. One can guess, any comments would be redundant to those from the Auburn game.<\/p>\n

Now Playing at Quarterback\u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The mystery surrounding the quarterback position has potentially wearied the fans and media to the question. Who is the starting quarterback? With Rogers injured, it fell to Wright who woefully did not produce. In fact, the three games he started, showed only two touchdowns.<\/p>\n

Offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay<\/strong> finally brought out the true freshman everyone had talked about all week, Chris Parson<\/strong>. He was a four-star recruit and a leader who kept the signing class together following Mike Leach\u2019s<\/strong> death. Barbay brought him into the Kentucky game late in the third quarter to get some life into the offense. Parson didn\u2019t disappoint, throwing a 34-yard pass to Tulu Griffin<\/a>, starting an optimistic series. He eventually took the Bulldogs inside the Wildcat red zone, as close as the three-yard line. But penalties and a rookie mistake on an intentional grounding penalty, saw the Dawgs with fourth and 20, with 5:58 left in the game. The Dawgs went for it and turned it over on downs. They would not get back that close again.<\/p>\n

Arnett had nothing but praise for the pup Parson, but he might have been looking to the future. \u201cI think he did a really good job when he came in,\u201d Arnett said.\u00a0\u201cHe pushed the ball down the field.\u00a0 His stat line \u2013 he had a couple of drops in there \u2013 he\u2019s close to a hundred yards passing. He has some mobility too.\u00a0 He keeps plays alive when things start to break down.\u00a0 He\u2019ll learn a lot from this film.\u00a0But very pleased with his competitiveness.\u00a0 And he provided a little spark\u2026and energy picked up.\u201d Where this leaves the Bulldogs going into Texas A&M next week is anyone\u2019s guess. Be prepared for more drama.<\/p>\n

It Was Homecoming After All<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Mississippi State spoiled the Arkansas homecoming, winning that game 7-3. This loss gave the Bulldog fans a sense of what it’s like to lose these kinds of games. Arnett recognized that having the 1998 SEC West Champs there, plus all the normal homecoming pageantry, the loss was a major letdown. \u00a0I\u2019m disappointed the fans didn\u2019t have a better outcome to celebrate,\u201d Arnett said. \u201cThey do a tremendous job showing up and supporting the players.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Dawgs are on the brink of ending a 13-year tradition of going to a bowl game. There are only three games left. They go to College State for Texas A&M. Southern Mississippi is at home, and then the Egg Bowl, this year in Starkville.<\/p>\n

It’s evident that the offense isn\u2019t nearly as effective without Rogers. And to that end, the 4-year starter is clamoring to be back in time for the Egg Bowl. Arnett is hopeful, but not making any promises. \u201cI think he\u2019s progressed really well,\u201d Arnett said.\u00a0\u201cHe\u2019s practicing.\u00a0 I have no doubt he has the grit and determination to play in that game (Ole Miss).\u00a0 I know he wants to play before that too.\u00a0 I\u2019m not qualified to make that call.\u00a0 When doctors say he\u2019s available, he\u2019ll be in there.\u2019<\/p>\n

Realistically speaking, a Texas A&M win is probably a pipe dream. A win at home against Southern Miss. is no gimme but within the realm of possibilities. Then, there comes the Egg Bowl. Ole Miss has a formidable team this year, but this is the game that is anyone\u2019s guess, every year. As far as Arnett is concerned, he has faith. “I\u2019m confident our guys are going to come to work,\u201d Arnett said. \u201cThey\u2019re plenty talented enough to be in every game.\u201d Stay tuned for the A&M preview and more drama to come.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not much fun being a fan of Mississippi State these days. In every game of the last few weeks, there has been hope that a victory would be in the offing, but to no avail. The Arkansas victory started that hope, following losses to South Carolina, Alabama, and LSU. But this was Homecoming in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4559,"featured_media":54322,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2],"tags":[10339,32713,79,10083,21,10220,285,1286,5287,9739],"class_list":["post-54275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sec","category-featured","tag-2023-sec-football","tag-chris-parson","tag-college-football","tag-davis-wade-stadium","tag-kentucky-wildcats","tag-kevin-barbay","tag-mark-stoops","tag-mike-leach","tag-mississippi-state-football","tag-zach-arnett"],"modified_by":"Kate Pearson Halyburton, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4559"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54275\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}