I have returned after a week- long hiatus and have made sure to include a pic of a hot MSU fan on this post to brighten James’ day. Her name is Taylor Corley and she is a Mississippi State cheerleader turned playboy bunny, so dodn’t google her if you’re shy. On to football matters now. Kentucky welcomed Mississippi State into commonwealth Saturday, and decided to break out the “black out” jerseys fans have been clamoring for. Unfortunately the extra hype from the black out wasn’t enough and the Cats fell to the Bulldogs 28-16.
So what happened?
The Bulldogs utilized a passing game that Kentucky could not stop and was able to rack up 264 passing yards on only 21 attempts. Kentucky could not find a way to punch the ball into the end zone until late in the game and traded field goals for MSU’s touchdowns until the fourth quarter. Kentucky quarterback Morgan Newton suffered multiple injuries in the game and did not play past the first quarter. Maxwell Smith was able to fill in to close out the game, but the Kentucky defense just could not slow down MSU quarterbacks Tyler Russell and Chris Relf as they carved up the Wildcat secondary.
Room for improvement:
– After the great outing the offensive line had against JSU, the follow-up performance against Mississippi State was not nearly as impressive. The unit is still playing better than they did early in the season, but struggled to control the line of scrimmage and a couple of players were overwhelmed by the combination of size and athleticism that the MSU front brought. They will have to come together and improve upon this performance.
– I know this may seem harsh, but Kentucky’s defensive backfield is terrible. Game after game other allow subpar quarterbacks to look like all-Americans and it’s beyond frustrating now. Outside of Martavius Neloms, I have not been impressed by a single player in the defensive backfield. The cornerbacks mainly, are toasted play after play by receivers no one has ever heard of. Tyler Russell was able to pile up 172 yards passing on only 9 competitions. That is just unacceptable, but then again, it’s not like anyone should expect any better at this point.
– The Kentucky defensive line has really struggled to get pressure on the quarterback this season and Saturday was no different. There are flashes of brilliance at times, but more often than not, the unit doesn’t get enough pressure to force opposing quarterbacks into mistakes. Honestly, anything to help hide the inability of Kentucky’s cornerbacks to cover receivers would be nice.
Bright spots:
– Hard to say anything about this game without mentioning how impressive Maxwell Smith played. He isn’t jumping on anyone’s Heisman list just yet, but he was composed, accurate, and gave Kentucky an offensive spark that it hasn’t had this season. I’m never in favor of someone losing their starting job because of an injury, but Joker and company have a legitimate quarterback controversy on their hands now. The staff owes it to Smith to give him a chance to compete with Newton for the first string reps this week.
– You just have to love CoShik Williams. Kentucky has cheerleaders bigger than this guy, but the plays his heart out play after play and hit the hole harder than any of Kentucky’s scholarship backs. I worry that he may have reached his ceiling, but he’s been very good taking over for Clemons and Sanders, so his performances might just be enough.
– Jonathan George (AKA the forgotten man) has been impressive the last two weeks as well. He runs hard and hits the hole with authority and will drag a defender on his back.
– I’ll eat a big plate of crow now. Matt Roark had a great game. He’s really turned his senior season around in the last few weeks.
– You can’t not mention Danny Trevathan here either. The guy had 17 total tackles, a forced fumble and an interception in one of the best games of his career.
– I loved the fake punt call in the first quarter.
Game MVP: Easy one here, Danny Trevathan.
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