Turnovers Doom Kentucky in 31-17 Loss, Sixth Straight at Mississippi State

Games at Mississippi State are some kind of Kentucky football hell. The Wildcats turned it over four times. In the third quarter the Bulldogs scored 17 points before UK ran its fourth play. Will Rogers set an SEC single-game completion percentage record with only three incompletions. It was a recipe for disaster, dropping No. 12 Kentucky to 6-2 on the season after falling 31-17, the sixth straight loss at Mississippi State.

Thanks, Josh Ali

The way the game soured, some people forget that UK actually led 10-0 early in the second quarter. Josh Ali returned to the gridiron for the first time in almost a month and promptly returned a punt 74 yards for a touchdown. It was Kentucky’s first punt return score since Lynn Bowden made Penn State defenders miss in the 2018 Citrus Bowl.

Welcome back, @_JoshAli6! #ForTheTeam 📺 @SECNetwork https://t.co/XkxLBQzwsn pic.twitter.com/tmZkKTKMrp

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) October 30, 2021

The UK defense forced a field goal on the ensuing possession that went wide right. Liam Coen’s offense responded with a 6:30 scoring drive that ended with a Matt Ruffolo field goal. After that, things spiraled thanks to a ton of turnovers.

Turnovers Kill the Cats

The first Will Levis interception felt somewhat harmless. The bomb to the goal line on the first possession was essentially an arm-punt. You can’t say anything similar about the rest of the Wildcats give-aways.

Trailing 14-10 before half, Liam Coen dialed up a drive in the final minute of the half to get Kentucky into the red zone. Levis overthrew an open Ali in the end zone, then was picked off on the following play. His next passing attempt would also be intercepted, but not before Chris Rodriguez fumbled the ball in the backfield.

Mississippi State opened the third quarter with a scoring drive that last more than eight minutes. Rodriguez fumbled on the second UK offensive snap of the half. A quick Miss. State touchdown was followed by a quick UK interception and the Bulldogs scored 17 points before Kentucky ran its fourth play of the second half.

Excellent Game by Will Rogers

Two weeks after Stetson Bennett played the best game of his career vs. the Wildcats, Will Rogers threw only three incompletions in four quarters against Kentucky. Mississippi State’s offense could do no wrong.

The Bulldogs averaged more than 9.6 yards per completion as Rogers connected on 36-of-39 pass attempts for 344 yards and a touchdown. To make matters worse, timely runs could not be contained. Mississippi State’s Air Raid actually out-rushed Kentucky, gaining 94 yards to the Wildcats’ 66 yards on the ground.

Kentucky’s Last Ditch Effort

Despite the blistering turnovers that moved UK to -12 on the year, they did not go down without a fight. Coen went right back to Levis after the interception. He started the drive with a completion to Wan’Dale Robinson, then finished it with back-to-back passes DeMarcus Harris. The 17-yard score was the first of the third-year wide receiver’s career.

Had to have this. @D_harris2121 with his first career TD catch to cap a 10-play, 75-yard drive.

Mississippi State 31, Kentucky 17 (13:31, 4Q) | #ForTheTeam | 📺 @SECNetwork https://t.co/XkxLBQzwsn pic.twitter.com/Vd58dKrlV1

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) October 31, 2021

One possession later the Kentucky defense bowed up and got a stop. The Mississippi State punt went only 16 yards, giving the ball to UK on the 25-yard line with 8:30 to play trailing by two touchdowns. The Wildcats punted three plays after a Robinson first down, effectively dashing any hopes of a miraculous comeback.

Reeling after consecutive losses, Kentucky must bounce back at Kroger Field against rival Tennessee before a special season slides away from Mark Stoops’ fingertips.