Mark Stoops bemoans 'long, long drive,' 'very spotty' offense in 1st half vs. Mississippi State

The scoreboard would indicate Saturday’s game between Kentucky and Mississippi State was all Wildcats as UK took a 21-3 lead into the locker room. But the offense was only on the field for four drives before the break as MSU used a 12-minute long drive to dominate time of possession.

During his halftime interview with SEC Network’s Alyssa Lang, Kentucky coach Mark Stoops addressed that possession while also pointing out the Wildcats’ struggles on offense.

“Very spotty,” Stoops said of the Wildcats offense. “It didn’t help when we gave up a long, long drive. Defense, there was an 18-play drive, we had a couple penalties in there, got ourselves out of rhythm a little bit. We did get the pick-six, we took another possession away from the offense. We’ll be okay. We need to give them some opportunities.”

That drive from Mississippi State started with 6:20 to play in the first quarter and ended with a field goal at the 8:51 mark of the second quarter to cut the Kentucky lead to 7-3. That’s a long time for the defense to be on the field, but the Wildcats came out on the next defensive possession and intercepted Mike Wright for the pick-six.

Mark Stoops: Kentucky has to get the running game going in second half vs. Mississippi State

As for what the defense can do better, Stoops said it has to get off the field. In addition, Wright can also make plays with his legs, which means Kentucky has to be prepared for anything. It’ll also help to get the offense going, specifically the running game, which totaled just 58 yards in the first half.

“We can’t give up the long, long drives,” Stoops said. “That’s No. 1. We know [Wright’s] a threat running the ball. We have to make some plays one-on-one. Offensively, we’ve got to be able to run the ball more efficiently, though. We been very ineffective running the ball.”

Devin Leary threw for two touchdowns in the first half against Mississippi State as he completed 9 of 14 passes for 101 yards. It hasn’t been the easiest go this year for the Kentucky offense, which entered Week 10 ranked 10th in the SEC in scoring. Leary also ranks ninth in the league in passing, averaging 218.6 yards per game.

The Wildcats came into Saturday’s game against Mississippi State in the midst of a three-game losing streak, as well, but will hope to stay out in front to end that skid in the second half.