5 Things You Need to Know About the Mississippi State Bulldogs

The Kentucky Wildcats roll into Week Seven a little differently than they had hoped. A potential dream season was derailed last Saturday as the ‘Cats lost 24-14 to South Carolina at Kroger Field. Will Levis’ absence was clear from the opening snap and UK dropped their second straight contest. However, Levis is expected to return and the Wildcats will get another opportunity at home against the Mississippi State Bulldogs under the lights at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday night. The Bulldogs are ranked #16 with a 5-1, 2-1 record. Defeating head coach Mike Leach’s squad will be no easy task, but it is necessary to get the season back on the tracks.

As always, make sure you check out Adam Luckett’s Scouting Report for an in-depth look at the Bulldogs. Also, Freddie Maggard has the plan for how Kentucky beats Mississippi State. Those will be two great resources when preparing for Saturday’s matchup. Kentucky Sports Radio will be pumping out pregame content all day long also so stay tuned to the website. Now, let’s dive in to five things you need to know about the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Will Rogers Leads the Mississippi State Air Raid

Mike Leach and the Air Raid offense are synonymous at this point. The offensive genius as won at a high level at both Texas Tech and Washington State before taking over in Starkville. Junior quarterback Will Rogers is the focal point of the Mississippi State Bulldogs offense once again and is one of the most efficient passers in the country. Through six games, the Mississippi native has completed 71.6% of his passes and has found pay dirt 22 times already.

What the Bulldogs may lack in the explosive play category the make up for in a death by 1000 cuts method. Rogers averages 7.5 yards per attempt and has only been sacked eight times in 290 passing plays. He has only been intercepted three times. That means he gets the ball out quick and simply wants to stay ahead of the chains. Disrupting his timing and creating some 2-and-10, 3-and-long opportunities will be critical for the Kentucky defense.

Running Backs Offer Dual-Threat Skill

The Mississippi State Bulldogs offense is known for passing the football. However, a pair of running backs are arguably the most important pieces to Mike Leach’s offense. Dillon Johnson and Jo’quavious Marks are averaging just over 21 carries per game for a combined 647 yards and eight touchdowns. Additionally, the pair of juniors have caught 48 balls for 339 yards. Wildcats defensive coordinator Brad White must mark these guys at all times as the check downs are common in the Bulldogs passing attack.

Johnson has been the big play threat so far with 13 rushes of 10 or more yards plus 256 yards after catch through the air. When he has the ball in his hands there is a chance of something special happening. This will need to be Kentucky’s best tackling performance of the season. Getting these guys on the ground efficiently will be crucial to creating those longer yardage situations.

Bulldogs Feature Balanced Receiving Corps

There have been seven Mississippi State Bulldogs who have caught double-digit passes this season. The trio of Caleb Ducking, Rufus Harvey, and running back Dillon Johnson have been the favorite targets. These three have pulled in 28, 27, and 27 catches respectively through six weeks of play.

Ducking is a 6’5″ senior and Rogers’ favorite red zone target. The oversized receiver has pulled in seven touchdowns on the year. Harvey is essentially the opposite as a 5’10” slot receiver who will catch the ball much closer to the line of scrimmage. He is averaging just over 10 yards per reception. We already covered Johnson and his dynamic abilities above.

The other top pass catchers include Rara Thomas, Jaden Walley, and Austin Williams. Thomas is the most explosive playmaker averaging 17.5 yards per catch with a long of 75 yards. His 368 yards leads the balanced Bulldogs attack. Meanwhile, Walley and Williams each have three touchdowns on 12 catches. Will Rogers is going to spread the ball around and find all of these weapons throughout the night at Kroger Field.

Unique 3-3-5 Defensive Scheme

Defensive Coordinator Zach Arnett has guided the Mississippi State Bulldogs to a Top 50 defense in each of the last two seasons. However, they haven’t quite lived up to those expectations this season. The Bulldogs are allowing 4.5 yards per rush which is 99th nationally as opponents pick up an average of 138.5 yards a game on the ground. Will Levis may be back for the ‘Cats, but this could be a huge Chris Rodriguez game. If he can continue to move the chains it could be a long night for the Mississippi State defense.

This is a defensive unit that uses a lot of movement and misdirection to try and create havoc plays. Those big plays haven’t necessarily been there consistently though for Zach Arnett’s group this season. The Bulldogs have produced 14 sacks, lead by linebacker Nathaniel Watson with three. Overall, the defense is just 117th in the country in tackles for loss per game at 4.3. Negative plays have been a pain point for Kentucky this year. If they are able to avoid those against this Bulldogs defense it will go a long way to getting back in the win column.

Bulldogs Strong in the Secondary

There may be some issues in the defensive front, but the Mississippi State Bulldogs are stout in the secondary. Junior cornerback Emmanuel Forbes is second nationally in passes defended with 10 including six breakups and four interceptions. One of those interceptions, against Texas A&M, was taken back to the house for a touchdown. Forbes will be playing on Sundays sooner rather than later. Texas transfer super senior Jalen Green and senior Collin Duncan are veterans at safety who factor into the Bulldogs havoc creation. Both will be active in trying to stuff Chris Rodriguez and the running game.

Overall, Mississippi State has 12 takeaways which leads the Southeastern Conference. That will be a major stat to watch as the Wildcats have struggled in the turnover department. If Kentucky can stay even or positive in that category they will likely be able to win the football. A perfect way to combat that will be handing the rock to #24 in the backfield and letting him run over a shaky Bulldogs rush defense.