Two of the most talented quarterbacks in the Southeastern Conference are facing off Saturday night. Will Rogers and the Mississippi State University Bulldogs will square up against Will Levis and the University of Kentucky Wildcats.
MSU and Kentucky are meeting for the 47th time this Saturday in what should be a high-scoring affair. The Wildcats are coming off of a tough loss against the University of South Carolina, where backup quarterback Kaiya Sheron played against the Gamecocks due to Levis battling an injury.
Sheron completed 15 of his 27 pass attempts for 178 yards and two touchdowns. He was sacked six times with a combined loss of 54 yards, bringing the Wildcats to 25 sacks allowed on the season.
The Bulldogs’ defense will have to find a way to stop Kentucky running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. After missing the first four games of the season due to a suspension, Rodriguez returned to action against the University of Mississippi. He rushed 19 times for 72 yards, had three catches for 40 yards and a score. 
Against South Carolina, Rodriguez Jr. rushed 16 times for 97 yards in the first half and became the first player in team history to record three games of 125 or more rushing yards. However, his effort was not enough, as the Wildcats fell short 24-14. 
After a heart-wrenching loss, head coach Mark Stoops said the Wildcats were disappointed about the result of the game. 
“(I’m) disappointed with the way we played this past Saturday. Give South Carolina credit. They beat us, and it is what it is,” Stoops said. “(We’re) moving on to Mississippi State, a very good team. Obviously, playing Mike Leach, he can move the football. They are very good at what they do.”
On the opposing side, Leach’s Air Raid offense and Zach Arnett’s defense have given the Bulldogs an AP top-25 ranking at No. 16. The Bulldogs have only given up a total of 31 points in the last two weeks against both Texas A&M University and the University of Arkansas.
At the helm for the Bulldogs, Rogers has broken many records since the start of the 2022 season and is making his case to be a contender in the Heisman Trophy race.
In his game against Arkansas, Rogers became the SEC all-time leader in completions with a total of 922 during his collegiate career. This season, Rogers is averaging a 68.9% completion rate, 329 yards and three touchdown passes.
No matter the outcome of each game or how many records are surpassed, head coach Leach said the Bulldogs can always improve.
“We are finishing runs better than we did last year, but we could certainly do better. We are blocking the second level better than we did last year, but we could certainly do better. We’re playing faster than we did last year, but we could certainly play faster,” Leach said. “Then defensively, we do a lot of good things, and we are kind of explosive and powerful on defense, but some of the big plays we could definitely shut down, too.”
The MSU Bulldogs travel to Lexington, Kentucky, Saturday for their bout at Kroger Field. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m., and the game will be streaming live on the SEC Network.