Mike Leach calls out Kentucky for Mississippi State pre-snap penalties

Mike Leach rallied his Mississippi State Bulldogs to defeat the Kentucky Wildcats Saturday night 31-17. Kentucky was having a magical season, but the Bulldogs hit them with a reality check in Starkville.

There was plenty of good to go around for Leach’s squad, but penalties was one of the lowlights of their victory. Mississippi State was hounded for 14 penalties against Kentucky — including six false starts on the night. In his postgame press conference, Leach called out an interesting tactic by Kentucky as the reason why.

“Well, they were simulating our snap count,” stated Leach. “Folks can get away with that. We got to start coaching it.”

It’s a dangerous game accumulating that many penalties, but Leach’s team was able to overcome them. Luckily, Mississippi State’s offense looked so dangerous yesterday that the penalties didn’t derail their victory.

Moreover, quarterback Will Rogers was phenomenal against Mark Stoops’ team. The Bulldogs quarterback was almost perfect — completing 36 of 39 passes for 344 yards and a touchdown.

On the other side of the football, the Mississippi State defense helped out Leach and his offense big time. The unit forced four turnovers — including three interceptions thrown by Wildcats quarterback Will Levis.

When your quarterback is humming and your defense is on fire, you can overcome multiple pre-snap penalties. However, that won’t always be the case as time goes on.

Mississippi State: What’s next?

Following last night’s big victory, Mike Leach won’t celebrate with candy corn as a Halloween treat. Instead, he’ll find a different Halloween candy to snack on while preparing for the rest of the Bulldogs schedule.

Next on the docket is the Arkansas Razorbacks, who have lost three of their last four contests. Afterwards, the Bulldogs travel to take on the Auburn Tigers. Finally, Leach’s squad gets a reprieve for a weekend — playing Tennessee State before ending their season against the Ole Miss Rebels.

Leach has his team hitting their stride. With a strong end to their season, they could prove they’re a force to be reckoned with in the coming years.