Kentucky pulls away from Mississippi State with huge second quarter

Football is a game of execution. Football can also be a game of momentum when certain situations arrive. On Saturday night at Davis-Wade Stadium, Kentucky won when the biggest situations arrived. The program’s long losing streak in Starkville and to SEC West foes on the road ended because of that.

In the second quarter, Kentucky’s defense made a few key plays, and then the offense landed a knockout punch in the Middle 8. The Wildcats went out and won the game in Starkville.

Let’s take a closer look at the snaps that made the biggest difference in Kentucky’s 24-3 win that was powered by complementary football.

Red zone stop

After a slow start, Mississippi State’s offense got rolling on their third possession. The Bulldogs converted four third downs on the drive and had a first-and-10 at the Kentucky 11 as the drive neared 20 plays, and over 12 minutes bled off the game clock.

From there, the Wildcats bowed up.

Kentucky got a run stuff on first down before an open-field tackle by Maxwell Hairston created a third-and-long. The Wildcat would then win the fifth third down situation of the drive.

A quick pressure created by Deone Walker forces Mike Wright into scramble mode. The Wildcats do a good job leveraging the football between Andru Phillips and Keaten Wade. That forces Wright to get north/south, and then the cavalry arrives. The result of a play is a short game, and Zach Arnett calls for his field goal team immediately.

Mississippi State burned through 20 plays and milked nearly a full quarter off the game clock but came away with only three points. That can be demoralizing for a football team. In the first big situation of the game, Kentucky came away with a key red zone stop to prevent four points from being added to the scoreboard.

Kentucky forced Mike Wright to be a pocket passer

Last November, Kentucky lost to Mike Wright in a stunning home upset. The former Vanderbilt quarterback shredded the Wildcats with his legs on the ground and made just enough throws to allow the Commodores to leave Kroger Field with a victory.

Nearly one year later, Kentucky faced the same situation. Only this time Wright was wearing a different jersey. The Wildcats did a much better job eliminating QB run (9 carries for 32 yards) and forcing the inaccurate thrower to be a pocket passer.

Holding a 7-3 lead, Kentucky’s defense produced the biggest play of the game after Wright got locked on his first target while facing zone coverage.

Twenty-six yard pick 6️⃣, @Derykjackson4.

📺 – @SECNetwork: https://t.co/gEE3tY87Hy pic.twitter.com/r9XxgMDR2m

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) November 5, 2023

After the snaps, Wright looks directly into the boundary and never locates D’Eryk Jackson. Good zone eyes create a takeaway that is an easy walk-in touchdown for the Wildcats. You simply cannot make them any easier than this.

In back-to-back defensive snaps, Kentucky got a red zone stop to end the best drive of the game and then scored a touchdown on their very next play. The defense turned a potential tie game into an 11-point lead over just two snaps.

Run game comes alive in Middle 8

Following the pick-six, Kentucky’s defense forced another three-and-out to give the offense the ball back at their own 37 with 4:46 left until halftime. For the second week in a row, Liam Coen‘s offense found itself in a four-minute situation.

A sputtering ground attack picked a good time to get right.

Kentucky turned to Ray Davis over the next five snaps. The redshirt senior produced 33 yards creating a second-and-7 at the Mississippi State 30 with under two minutes remaining in the second quarter. After pounding the rock with his star tailback, Coen decides to go with some misdirection.

Kentucky goes with a jet sweep call, and the final result ends up being an explosive play that creates a low red zone possession.

Dane Key gets just enough of the play-side safety to spring the big run. Two plays later, Devin Leary would find Key in the endzone to put Kentucky up 21-3 with 0:52 left until halftime. The game felt over after D’Eryk Jackson’s interception. It officially ended when Kentucky scored a touchdown in the Middle 8.

When the big moments arrived in the second quarter, Kentucky landed consecutive knockout punches. This is what won the game for the road team.