Kentucky went back to old winning formula against Mississippi State

Since 2016, Mark Stoops is 52-31 at Kentucky with a pair of double-digit win seasons and AP Top 25 finishes. In 2022, the Cats find themselves back in the top 25 but the winning formula has been different for the program this fall.

Through the first five games of the season, Kentucky used a rock-solid defense and combined it with a big-play passing game to go 3-0 in the non-conference and found a way to knock off Florida in The Swamp before losing a 50/50 game to Ole Miss on the road. After an upset loss to South Carolina and dealing with an injured quarterback, that formula needed to change.

To help protect Will Levis and a leaky offensive line in pass protection, Kentucky went ground-heavy on Saturday against Mississippi State. It resulted in an old-school win for the Wildcats.

Rich Scangarello’s offense rushed for a season-high 239 yards on a season-high 48 attempts in the 10-point victory. The efficient rushing attack helped pave the way for a solid day on offense as the Cats scored 27 points on 6.55 yards per play. It marked the first time the offense has rushed for over 200 yards this season.

Dating back to 2016, Kentucky has now reached that yardage mark 40 times. The Cats are 34-6 when going north over 200 yards. When backed against the wall, UK went to what they know best.

Why has that formula been so successful? It allows the Cats to play ball control offense, limit possessions, and keep opposing offenses off the field.

Of Kentucky’s six losses, five have occurred in games that turned into shootouts. Tennessee (2016), Louisville (2017), Ole Miss (2017), Ole Miss (2020), and Tennessee (2021) each scored over 40 points and averaged at least 6.8 yards per play to pull off a win. The only outlier was in 2019 when Tennessee won 17-13 when the Cats had zero threat of a passing game.

In each season, coaching staffs have to adjust to their personnel. Kentucky is not built to rush for over 200 yards consistently but the Cats were able to go back to that well when they had to have it. Down the road, Kentucky will likely need another big rushing performance when Levis isn’t able to sit back and throw the ball 35 times.

Against Mississippi State, the Big Blue once again proved it can win the old fashion way — hammer the rock, own the game with ball control, and play good team defense to get into the win column.

Getting Chris Rodriguez Jr. back in the lineup certainly doesn’t hurt.