Barion Brown led the Wildcats in receiving with seven catches and 62 yards. (Vicky Graff Photo)
It’s amazing how a single day can mean so much to an entire season. Just as it seemed the Kentucky Wildcats had lost their grip on the 2022 campaign, they roared back to shift their momentum with a 27-17 win over No. 16 Mississippi State.
Maybe “lost their grip” is a bit dramatic. But when you consider the fact Kentucky was ranked No. 7 in the country just two weeks ago, falling 15 spots to No. 22 feels like a drastic trend in the wrong direction.
After dropping back-to-back games at Ole Miss and to South Carolina, the easy path to take for the Wildcats would have been to lay down vs. a roaring Mississippi State team and simply move on to their bye week. Kentucky is dealing with multiple injuries and hadn’t walked off the football field with a win in 20 days.
But if you’ve followed Kentucky football since head coach Mark Stoops took over in 2013, you know laying down was never an option. The culture Stoops and his staff have instilled in this program over the last decade is too strong for that. Though they had many chances to waive white flag, the Wildcats never backed down.
Kicker Matt Ruffolo missed his first field goal try of the evening from 51 yards, but made sure to connect on his other two attempts as well as his three extra point tries.
Quarterback Will Levis made his return from a one-game absence due to a foot injury and his offense failed to score a touchdown in the first half. He lost two offensive linemen, dislocated his shoulder and even threw a pick six to Emmanuel Forbes (one of the Southeastern Conference’s best defensive backs). However, Levis kept fighting and rallied his team to arguably their best win of the season.
Despite multiple shifts on the offensive line, Chris Rodriguez had his best game of the season. He carried the ball 30 times for 196 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior wide receiver Rahsaan Lewis fumbled in Mississippi State territory midway through the first quarter, but made up for the turnover by catching a touchdown pass on fourth and goal late in the third quarter.
Kentucky’s defense had been flat-out embarrassed by South Carolina a week ago. After holding Mississippi State to just 96 yards of offense in the first half, the Wildcats gave up a quick touchdown drive at the beginning of the third quarter. However, they came together to give up just 11 total yards in the fourth quarter and intercepted Bulldogs QB Will Rodgers late to seal the win.
No matter what was thrown at them, the Wildcats always had an answer on Saturday night.
The win was momentum-shifting in so many ways and it all starts at the top with Stoops. He often receives the bulk of criticism when Kentucky underperforms and has seen his share over the last two weeks. So, when the Wildcats put together a game like they did on Saturday night, Stoops should be first in line to receive the credit he rightfully deserves.
Following the game, Stoops said he didn’t know what the outcome would be but he knew his team would respond with a tough, resilient performance.
Stoops also made sure thank the Kentucky fan base for their passion.
“I cannot thank our fan base enough. We’ve had a lot of home games. We’ve had some ups and some downs. Came back this weekend, again, pulling in… seeing the people… seeing the tailgating… seeing the packed stadium… hearing them… staying until the end… cheering like they did. Thank you. Amazing. It was a great night.”
Kentucky’s coaching staff challenged the team to bounce back with an all-out effort for the entire game in front of their home crowd and that’s exactly what the Wildcats did.
Stoops and his team couldn’t ask for a better way to enter their bye week and the extra rest couldn’t come at a better time, either. The Wildcats are as banged up as any team in the country with each unit dealing with multiple injuries. Kentucky will look to get somewhat healthy before preparing for the daunting road test of a trip to face the Tennessee Volunteers on October 29th. The No. 6 Vols are 6-0 after knocking off No. 3 Alabama on Saturday in a 52-49 thriller.
One Response
Tennessee is for real, I said that early on this year. That said, the key to beating the cocky Vols is getting pressure and hits on Hooker, containing him all day long too, and covering UT receivers. I hope Brad White’s defense can come up with a game plan to do just that. It will not be easy. Don’t let Tennessee defenders lay a hand on Levis either.
I look for the Cats to play hard though because this is the ugly A$$ ORANGE team!!! This is the game we circle, at least us old time football fans, every year. Can’t stand that bunch of Pruett era cheaters and golf ball throwers. Has any thing ever been done to UT for any of that rule breaking and idiocy? NO!!! Win this one and I vote Mark Stoops for President. At least a year or three or four on his current contract.