University of Kentucky kick returner Alfonso Smith stood back, waiting to receive the ball on the opening play of the second half. Catching the ball around his own seven-yard line, Smith began to speed his way up the field. As he tried to maneuver his way through the smashing bodies, fighting for extra yards, Smith had the ball stripped from his grasp. The football would take a bounce and land safely into the hands of Mississippi State’s Keith Fitzhugh.
Smith’s miscue was the first of many for the Wildcats, and Mississippi State used them to defeat the team that took down then-No. 1 LSU just two weeks ago.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs, behind a more wide-open offensive attack, were able to grab another SEC win on the road, as State left Lexington with a convincing 31-14 win over the Wildcats (6-3, 2-3 SEC).
With the win, Mississippi State (5-4, 2-3 SEC) is only one game shy of becoming eligible for a postseason bowl game while at the same time ending a two-game losing streak. State won its fifth game of the season for the first time since 2000.
Subsequently, that was also the last time the Bulldogs participated in the postseason.
Mississippi State head coach Sylvester Croom said his team’s game plan for the Wildcats was simple: Keep the ball out of the hands of Kentucky’s Heisman-hopeful quarterback Andre Woodson.
In the first half, the plan worked to perfection.
The Bulldogs limited Kentucky to only three offensive possessions in the first half, holding the ball for more than 16 minutes.
Croom said it was the Bulldogs’ opening drive that set the pace. State marched down the field on an 80-yard, 14-play drive, culminated by an 11-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Wesley Carroll to senior tight end Jason Husband.
“We came out the first drive, and our offensive staff did a great job with the game plan,” Croom said. “From an offensive standpoint, that first drive was absolutely critical and was a big part of the ballgame because it gave our guys confidence on the road. I think it was a little bit of a warning shot for them that we were able to take the ball and move it down the field like that.”
What may have helped the Bulldogs more than their game of keep-away was the Wildcats’ six second half turnovers.
Woodson, normally an accurate passer, was intercepted three times in the second half, and Wildcats’ running backs and wide receivers accounted for three more turnovers in the game.
The Bulldogs were able to turn those turnovers into points, and Kentucky head coach Rich Brooks said everything seemed to go wrong for his team.
“In the third quarter, we get second-and-one, and then we get an illegal procedure because we don’t line up on the line. Then we get a motion penalty. It just seemed like anything we could do wrong we did today,” Brooks said. “It seemed that whenever the ball went on the ground for them, it always bounced back to them.”
While things may have been malfunctioning for the Wildcats, for Mississippi State things couldn’t have gone much better.
The Bulldogs used a more wide-open offensive attack, racking up 352 yards of offense. True freshman Carroll finished the game 17-for-28 with 152 yards and two touchdowns; he also holds the school record for most passes thrown without an interception with 137.
“The fact that we kept their offense on the field and our defense off of it was huge,” Carroll said. “We wanted to keep the tempo and limit the time Woodson had the ball in his hands. We were able to do that today.”
Mississippi got another very productive game out of its tailbacks. Sophomore Anthony Dixon rushed for 82 yards and both a rushing and receiving touchdown. Fellow sophomore Christian Ducré had a career day, rushing for 119 yards and one touchdown. Dixon has 12 rushing touchdowns on the season, which is tops in the SEC.
While the offense executed its part of Saturday’s game plan to perfection, the Bulldog defense also had a plan of its own: keep Woodson off balance and keep him from making big plays. State’s defense held the Wildcats to a season-low 14 points and pressured Woodson relentlessly all afternoon.
Mississippi State defensive end Titus Brown said the key was getting Kentucky’s offense off the field on third down, which his defense was successful in accomplishing. The Wildcats were only 6-of-15 on converting third downs.
“We were definitely beaten physically,” said Woodson, who finished the game 24-of-42 for 230 yards. “The whole week we knew the game plan, and when it came down to it, Mississippi State outplayed us.