Wildcats travel down the Boulevard of Broken Dreams, fall to Bulldogs 24-17

Sooner or later, Kentucky football fans are going to be rewarded for their patience.  Unfortunately, it will not be tonight.  For the fourth time in six weeks, Kentucky faced off against a top 25 team and for the second time, lost the game in the final seconds.  Welcome my friends to Kentucky football, the Heartbreak Hotel of the SEC.

Tonight’s game followed a familiar and troubling script.  After a 54 yard Vick Ballard TD run, Kentucky found itself in a common situation, down 10-0 just 10:00 into the game.  Kentucky fought back and showed their own big play game as Mike Hartline hit Randall Cobb on a 48 yard TD pass in which Cobb simply outraced the entire Mississippi State team to the endzone.  The Bulldogs had another second drive that was basically all Chris Relf running and passing the Bulldogs to a 17-7 lead and it was easy to see another 40 point defensive performance occurring.

Kentucky got a FG by Craig McIntosh to cut the margin to 17-10 at the half.   Midway through the third quarter, Kentucky started a drive with a 32 yard reception to Randall Cobb and used a lot of running by Raymond Sanders.  This all culminated in a Hartline to Moncell Allen pass that knotted the game at 17.  It wasn’t easy, but Kentucky had fought back to tie the game and appeared to grab all the momentum.

This game was a reversal of fortune for the Wildcats.  The defense played solid ball tonight and it was the offense that struggled.  This was a team that clear missed Derrick Locke as the Wildcats rushed the ball 43 for 89 yards.  Joker was committed to the run, as you have to be in the SEC, but it was a lot of 2 and 3 yards and a cloud of dust tonight.

Mississippi State on the other hand, had a very good night on the ground, rushing 39 times for 214 yards, but Dan Mullen seemed intent on establishing their passing game, which netted just 111 yards.  Perhaps it was both coaches playing against their strengths tonight that made the game such a grind-fest.

With the score knotted at 17, Chris Relf did hit Chad Bumpis for a 354 yard pass that went to the Kentucky 28, and the Bulldogs went to their ground game as Relf scored on a keeper to put the Bulldogs ahead to stay, 24-17.  But as we said earlier, it was the offense’s night to struggle.

Kentucky went on two very unimpressive drives which netted essentially nothing. Mike Hartline, after a stellar season, had his first really rough night, going 23-41 for 258 yards and 2 TD’s and 3 INT’s.  Two of the Hartline interceptions were costly as they occurred near the Bulldog endzone, the last one launched from the Bulldog 20 on a 4th and 10 with just seconds remaining which sealed the Bulldog win.

And as the story goes, it was another tough loss for Kentucky.  As always, it seems we play the “what if” game.  I certainly think that Kentucky beats Auburn if they had  Derrick Locke and you can play the “what if game” all off season about the two road losses to Mississippi and Mississippi State.  Throw in a little luck and we are sitting at 7-2 right now, but instead we are 4-5 and have a very favorable schedule remaining in which we should win all three games.

I can’t really knock too much after a loss like this.  The defense played its ass off and the offense moved the ball enough to be in a position to win the game.  But once again turnovers doom this team.  Man, we need to start catching some breaks…

For complete game stats, go here. 

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