Kentucky Showed Resiliency, Resolve in Win at Mississippi State

Kentucky defeated Mississippi State 24-3. The final score does not reflect how much Mark Stoops and his Kentucky football team had to strain and grind to secure a victory.

The Wildcats’ head coach was animated on the sideline, desperate to will his team to a victory and snap a month-long losing streak in a place he’s never won before. It ultimately worked, but as the game hung in the balance, Mississippi State was driving the ball down the field for the equalizing score.

Trailing 7-0, the Bulldogs converted four third downs to keep the drive alive and enter the red zone. They possessed the ball for almost an entire quarter. The Cats were gassed, but on the fifth third down attempt, they finally gobbled up Mike Wright and got off the field. The ensuing field goal was the only points Mississippi State scored all night.

“We had a lot of things go wrong on that drive where you could sort of hang your head at the end and then give up a touchdown,” defensive coordinator Brad White said after the game. “Or you can battle and finish and force a field goal and basically say, ‘We took your best shot. Nineteen plays all the way down and all you can come away with is a field goal.’ I think that helped us build confidence. You may be tired on the sideline, but at least you’re confident that we bowed up when we needed to. At the end of the day, that’s what this game is about. I’m proud of the guys.”

Linebacker D’Eryk Jackson knows the Cats played far from perfect football during that first half possession.

“We missed a couple of tackles on that drive. We really were supposed to have them off (the field),” said Jackson. “It was just us a sense of pride to get them to kick the field goal and get our momentum back.”

The next time he stepped onto the field, he stole all of that momentum back in one snap. Jackson read Wright’s eyes, jumped the route and picked off a pass for an easy touchdown, the first of his career.

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Kentucky Defense had to Grind

The Mississippi State offense is not a juggernaut. Even so, the Wildcat defense needed to build confidence after giving up an average of 42 points during the three-game losing streak. When adversity struck, they did not falter.

“We needed to win by any means necessary,” Mark Stoops said. “It was far from pretty. But our team showed the grit and the resolve and the things that we need in the program. You need to win this way.”

Even though the offense did not get into the end zone in the second half, the defense held Mississippi State to only 218 yards of total offense and forced seven three-and-outs. As Stoops said, it was not the prettiest Kentucky football win, but it was exactly what this team needed to create a pathway for a fantastic finish to the 2023 season.

“Wins are wins and this is not an easy place to win. It’s not an easy travel,” said offensive coordinator Liam Coen. “Our kids were resilient, our defense played their tails off and at the end of the day it’s a team win. It’s good to get down here and — those cowbells aren’t fun. To hear those pretty quiet for the majority of the game was pretty nice.”

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