FINAL: Kentucky defense pitches shutout in 24-2 victory over Mississippi State

After two weeks of serious questions for the Kentucky defense, Brad White’s unit came up with all the answers against Mississippi State, leading the Wildcats to a 24-2 victory.

Despite the Bulldogs coming in with the No. 1 passing offense in the country, Kentucky managed six interceptions on the day and held MSU head coach Mike Leach to the lowest scoring game of his career.

Jamin Davis led the Kentucky defense with 11 total tackles (four solo) and one interception, followed by DeAndre Square with nine tackles, Jared Casey and Jordan Wright with six, and Tyrell Ajian, Brandin Echols, and Yusuf Corker with five.

As for interceptions, Davis, Wright, Boogie Watson, Josh Paschal, Kelvin Joseph, and D’Eryk Jackson all snagged one, with Wright’s pick being returned for a touchdown.

As a unit, the UK defense allowed just 295 total yards, including 20 on the ground.

On offense, Terry Wilson finished with 73 yards and one touchdown to go with 75 yards on the ground. Chris Rodriguez added 38 rushing yards and a score on seven carries, while AJ Rose managed 22 yards on eight carries.

Joey Gatewood even got a few reps late in the fourth quarter, finishing with five rushing yards on two carries. He also had one incompletion.

Josh Ali led UK’s receivers with 22 yards on two catches, followed by Brenden Bates with 14 yards, and Justin Rigg and Keaton Upshaw with 12, with the latter adding a receiving touchdown.

As a team, the Wildcats finished with 157 yards and ten total first downs.

Here is the entire box score: