Mississippi State Report Card vs. Kentucky

Oct 25, 2014; Lexington, KY, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs wide receiver De

This post is a little late, but let’s dig in anyway and examine MSU’s performance vs. Kentucky.

Offense: B

There were definitely some hiccups in that game. Some dropped passes, some miscues by the offensive line and Dak Prescott had probably his worst game of the year. Despite that, they racked up 542 total yards and there was 45 points on the board at the end of the day.

Prescott’s “poor” performance was all relative. He had 216 yards passing and 88 yards rushing. Not all his throws were crisp, but he fought through it, and 4th quarter injury, to get a win.

Josh Robinson was the star with 198 rushing yards. It was quite a performance and he showed America what kind of back he is.

It’s pretty incredible that I’m giving this performance a ‘B’, because in any other year a Mississippi State offense putting up these numbers would be an automatic ‘A’. This year, however, the offense is dynamic and is the reason MSU is 7-0 and ranked #1.

Defense: C

Patrick Towles is a really good quarterback. Some of those throws he made you just have to tip your hat – he will be one of the star QBs in the SEC next year, and he may be playing on Sundays before it’s all said and done.

The defensive line was great. Six sacks by the big boys up front and they held UK to just 103 yards on the ground.

The secondary is still leaving a lot to be desired. They gave up 401 yards. I’m not in panic mode – we still have athletes back there and have made some plays; Jamerson’s Love’s play on the ball that saved a touchdown comes to mind. Some of those yards were against linebackers in coverage. And when your defensive line is so good and the other team is playing from behind, they just pass more. We play a lot of man-to-man coverage and you aren’t going to win all of those battles. The stats are a little overblown, but the defensive backs are definitely the weak link.

I’m not so sure whole sale substitutions are the thing to do anymore, at least with the back seven. I’ll have more on that later in the week.

Special Teams: C

There is a good ‘C’ and a bad ‘C’. I’d like to give a ‘C’ because the special teams weren’t heard from all game, but I’m giving this ‘C’ because like usual they were really good and really bad.

The bad:

• why was Logan Cooke attempting that 42 yard FG? Anyway, he booted it and it was horrible. Notice it went the same direction as all his kickoffs (which he’s doing really well on).
• Jamoral Graham – muffing a punt for the third straight game. This time he fell on it so it wasn’t a turnover, but the song remains the same. I just don’t know if he should be back there anymore. The kid has talent but is making true freshman mistakes. I’d like to see Gabe Myles returning punts.

The good:

• Christian Holmes returns UK’s on-side kick attempt for a touchdown.
• Evan Sobiesk makes a field goal. He’s got the glorified extra points down pat, and I’m ok with that if it’s all we ever get.

Coaching: B+

Aside from the decision to put Logan Cooke out there for the field goal, I thought it was a good day. Kentucky played a good game, and combined with our not-so-great efforts it became a close game.

State had to power through this game. They didn’t have their best game, but they won. They looked like a #1 team in that regard. After beating three straight top 10 teams and a bye week, being on the road, etc. I wouldn’t expect much different from any team in the country.

Mullen and staff have done a solid job this year. Keep up the good work.