Kentucky is looking to flip the script against Zach Arnett's Mississippi State defense

Mississippi State defensive coordinator Zach Arnett and his 3-3-5 scheme have befuddled Kentucky in two meetings. To this point, the Wildcats have had very few answers to the unorthodox defense.

In 2020, Kentucky pulled away for a 24-2 win after a dominant defensive performance, but the offense could not get anything going. The Cats never had a drive over 62 yards and got 17 points off a pick-six and two very short fields set up by the defense. In the game, Kentucky totaled 148 non-sack rushing yards (when removing lost yardage on a bad snap during a punt that caused a safety) averaging 5.1 yards per rush, but the passing numbers were woeful. Terry Wilson completed only 8 of 20 throws for 73 yards on 3.7 yards per attempt.

Last season, Kentucky could only muster 10 offensive points and only got off 48 snaps. The Cats lost four turnovers in nine possessions with two coming on consecutive offensive plays in the third quarter to turn a close game into a blowout. The offense rushed for only 66 yards and averaged a pedestrian 5.4 yards per attempt.

After Eddie Gran and Liam Coen saw their offenses struggle against Arnett, Rich Scangarello will get his shot to flip the script for Kentucky. The first-year play-caller is impressed with what he’s seen from the Bulldogs on tape.

“This is a really good defense. They play fast, they play physical, they have a clean identity. They have a number of returning starters,” Scangarello told the media on Tuesday. “They’ve got guys that have started over 20 games. They’ve got a bunch of juniors and seniors in the two-deep. They’ve been playing in the system for a long time. You can tell they play off each other, they play well, and they’ve been overwhelming offenses. If you let them, they can jump on you. You have to match that intensity, you gotta be sharp, and you gotta have a great week of practice to prepare for something like this.

In the starting lineup, Mississippi State has three super seniors, four redshirt seniors, two true seniors, and two true juniors. The Bulldogs might have the oldest defense in college football and that is leading to some solid play.

Arnett’s third SEC defense is having issues stopping the run (60th in rush success rate, 82nd in rush EPA, 99th in yards per rush) but has been very good against the pass (6.2 yards per attempt, 8 interceptions, 16th in pass success rate, 17th in total passes defended). Mississippi State ranks No. 12 in third down/fourth down defense (31.6%) and has only allowed 18 red zone possessions through six games.

Behind a very good secondary led by Emmanuel Forbes (4 interceptions, 6 pass breakups), State can present many problems for offenses and this unit is often playing from ahead to due the efficiency of the Mississippi State offense. Kentucky’s offense needs to start producing, and they’ll attempt to turn the corner against a unit that’s played a lot of football in the SEC.

“They are definitely going to bring it, and they’re one of the best defenses we’ll face this year,” said Scangarello.