The Last Time Joe Moorhead Coached at Kroger Field

Joe Moorhead isn’t wearing maroon when he travels with Akron to Kroger Field. A little over five years ago he wore a Mississippi State visor to a rainy game against Kentucky. The Bulldogs ran into a fourth quarter buzzsaw spear-headed by Josh Allen.

Mississippi State was the No. 14 team in the country. Nick Fitzgerald showed plenty of promise as a strong runner under Dan Mullen. Moorhead appeared to unlock the quarterback’s passing potential early in the 2018 season. The Bulldog defense was filled with NFL talent. Montez Sweat, Jeffrey Simmons and Johnathan Abram were all first round NFL Draft picks in 2019.

Mark Stoops had already accomplished the unthinkable by upsetting Florida in Gainesville. Now playing freely without the weight of The Streak, Kentucky was prepared to fight fire with fire, creating one of the most physical football games in recent memory at Kroger Field.

Brad White Recalls Kentucky Defensive Struggles

It was only the second SEC game that Brad White had served as a defensive play-caller. He remembers the experience quite well.

“We’ll call it as it is, he ate my lunch that day,” said Kentucky’s defensive coordinator.

It wasn’t as bad as White recalls. It actually would’ve been one of the greatest days if officials ever called a holding penalty. Josh Allen only had 1.0 sack and 2.0 TFLs, but he was in the backfield on seemingly every single snap with an offensive lineman pulling on his jersey.

Third down was really the only thing the Moorhead offense did well. They picked up aggravating yards, converting 7-of-17 first downs. That sounds bad, only until you hear that Mississippi State moved the chains just 11 times for 201 total yards of offense.

Floodgates Open in the Fourth Quarter

The game was a knock-down, drag-em-out, slobber-knocker in front of a wild crowd that was made delirious by the constant drizzling rain. The scales finally tipped in Kentucky’s favor in the fourth quarter.

The Cats gained some momentum in the third quarter. Benny Snell broke the tie by capping off an 11-play, 92-yard scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. The pressure on Fitzgerald finally paid off with just under ten minutes to play. Driving near midfield, redshirt freshman Ty Ajian picked off the pass and returned it 35 yards. Snell broke free on the very next snap, running 36 yards into the end zone and sending Kroger Field into a frenzy.

Benny picked up one more touchdown for good measure, his fourth of the night, to secure a 28-7 win for the Wildcats. C.J. Conrad shared with KSR last week that it’s his favorite win as a player at Kroger Field. It gets lost in the sauce of big wins from the memorable 10-win campaign, but don’t be mistaken. Kentucky’s victory over Joe Moorhead was one of the most physical, exciting wins the BBN has seen in the Mark Stoops era.

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