The Mississippi State Bulldogs lost to the Kentucky Wildcats, 27-17. The Mississippi State football team is now 5-2 (2-2) on the season and is headed to Tuscaloosa, Alabama next week to face the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Bulldogs had their worst night of the season offensively and defensively.
Here are my early post-game thoughts.
That was not the same Mississippi State I watched the last two weeks.
I don’t know who traveled from Starkville, Mississippi to Lexington, Kentucky, but it was not the same team I watched face off against Texas A&M and Arkansas. I don’t expect Mississippi State to win many games on the road if that’s the type of production they will bring.
Mississippi State’s defensive line was dominated all night long.
This was the number one aspect of the game that I thought the Bulldogs could win tonight. Nope, I was wrong. Somehow the Kentucky offensive line changed from last week to this week, and the Bulldogs could not get a push on the line.
The offense moves downhill and if it gets stopped, it stops.
I would like to recall the first drive of the game when Will Rogers hit Dillon Johnson in the flat, and Johnson dropped the ball. It looked as if Johnson had fifteen yards ahead of him, but he dropped it. The offense had just started to move, and it looked almost as if we were going to do it until this drop. Mike Leach’s offense needs momentum, and this play was an early momentum killer.
Don’t expect to compete with Alabama next week.
I’m not sure you ever did expect to beat Alabama, but maybe you should start preparing your heart for a massacre. The Bulldogs won’t compete with Alabama, but hey what’s new?
This season’s ceiling has once again changed to 8-4.
I’m seeing Auburn, East Tennessee State, and a toss-up game in Oxford. Currently, I don’t like our chances on the road anywhere so Oxford may not be fun. I don’t mean to be Debbie Downer, but this is not a top-15 team that can win consistently.