Mark Stoops shares 'one constant' in facing Mike Leach teams

Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops is getting ready to battle the Mike Leach-led No. 16 Mississippi State Bulldogs for the third time since the latter took over as headman in 2020.

The two programs have split game at home since Leach became the head coach, and in that time, Stoops has noticed one similarity that both Mississippi State teams have had. It goes back to chemistry and discipline.

“I think the one constant with Mike [Leach] is that you could go back years and years and years, and while he may favor certain concepts or personnel groupings or certain plays year-to-year – I’m sure one that’s one of the reasons for his success – he knows very clearly what he wants to do,” Stoops said during Wednesday’s weekly SEC Teleconference. “He always has. He gets his players to play at a very, very high level and completely understand the offense.

“They’re very good at taking what’s in front of them when finding any weakness in certain areas, and they’re very efficient and definitely know what they want to do.”

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In both of the previous two matchups between the coaches and their current schools, the winning team was dominant in their victories. In 2020, Kentucky’s defense completely stifled the Air Raid and came away with a 24-2 win in Lexington. Fast forward a year later, and the Bulldogs trounced UK in Starkville 31-17. The final score doesn’t do the dominant performance from Mississippi State, who scored all 31 points consecutively between the second and third quarters.

With Kentucky hanging on to its spot in the AP Top 25 after two-straight losses following a 4-0 start, the game serves as a must-win victory for the Wildcats. They’ll hope to have star quarterback Will Levis back in the lineup after missing action last week with a lower leg injury.

Kickoff between the Wildcats and Bulldogs is set for 7:30 p.m. ET live from Kroger Field on the SEC Network.