Ad Disclosure
Mark Stoops said his Kentucky team never got in sync on Saturday night at Mississippi State, and that led to the Bulldogs eventually pulling away for a 42-16 victory, which keeps the Wildcats’ quest for their first bowl game in five years in doubt. UK actually got off to a decent start but couldn’t sustain it as turnovers and an inability to contain Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott eventually led to a blowout at the hands of the Bulldogs, but the Wildcats have an opportunity to get back on track next week against Tennessee.
5 TAKEAWAYS
• Dak Prescott can still beat you: Mississippi State isn’t the toast of the SEC and the nation as they were last season, but it is still pretty good and Prescott might be the best quarterback in the conference. He was simply too good for a very young Kentucky secondary, but it might be a good learning experience for the ‘Cats.
• There may be a QB controversy brewing: Starter Patrick Towles struggled, completing 23 of 42 passes with 2 interceptions, and he might not be the kind of quarterback who can carry a team. Freshman Drew Barker completed 7 of 9 passes for 42 yards but also had an interception, and the playcalling was designed to be safe for him. Still, at some point it may be time to give him a real shot.
• Getting behind is a problem: With the passing game a mess, the Wildcats just can’t afford to get behind the way they did on Saturday. As MSU pulled away, it effectively took Boom Williams out of the game. He finished with 95 yards on 18 carries, but UK would like to see him carry more of the load.
• Stoops is mindful of his team’s psyche: The Wildcats got off to a fast start in 2014, but it was falling apart at this point in the season last year. On Saturday, Stoops chose his words carefully in postgame comments and didn’t want to appear like he was down on the team, which still has a decent shot at ending the bowl drought.
• The rebuilding process is ongoing: The talent level is getting better at Kentucky, and a lot of the players are young. Depth is still an issue, but if Stoops continues to recruit on the level he has been, that should change. These games are frustrating, but there are bound to be growing pains at times.
REPORT CARD
Offense: C- — The ‘Cats put up 423 yards, which isn’t too bad, but turnovers were very costly and UK couldn’t sustain drives, often settling for field goal attempts when it needed to get into the end zone. Kentucky averaged just 4.9 yards per pass attempt, which isn’t going to be enough to scare teams from stacking the line against the threat of Williams running the ball.
Defense: D+ — On the bright side, Kentucky became the first team to intercept a pass from Prescott this season. But the Wildcats also allowed him to throw for 3 touchdowns and rush for 3 more. Prescott essentially had his way with the ‘Cats.
Special teams: B- — There was nothing all that noteworthy about the special teams play. The ‘Cats didn’t have a return more than 31 yards, and punter Landon Foster had a solid game. Austin MacGinnis missed a field goal, which hurts the grade just a bit, but he did hit a 48-yarder as well.
Coaching: C- — As mentioned above, Stoops is probably handling his players about as well as he can, but the staff isn’t going to get a lot of credit for game plan or adjustments this time out. The Bulldogs were able to figure out what worked against the Kentucky defense, which was off balance trying to defend the option along with Prescott’s passing ability. Offensively, UK just didn’t have much rhythm.
Overall: C- — There are some things to build on. Williams is still a productive running back and some others had nice games. If the ‘Cats could have cut out the turnovers, they might have made it a game. But in the end, this is one everyone on the Kentucky side would like to forget.
GAME PLAN
You have to think Stoops and Co. would have preferred to see Williams run the ball more than 20 times and Towles throw it fewer than 40. Instead, they got the opposite as the Wildcats had to play from behind most of the game. Whatever the Wildcats had in mind for stopping Prescott, they failed to execute.
GAME BALLS
CB Chris Westry: The true freshman continued his fantastic debut season, becoming the first player to pick off Prescott this season. He also had 3 tackles.
RB Stanley “Boom” Williams: Williams went over 100 total yards again, rushing for 95 on 18 carries and making 2 catches for 16 yards. It wasn’t enough to save the day, but it was another good outing for a good back.
WR Garrett Johnson: Johnson was the Wildcats’ most reliable receiver, making 5 catches for 74 yards.
Shane Mettlen is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Texas A&M, Missouri and Alabama.
