Saturday night, the Mississippi State Bulldogs took on the Kentucky Wildcats and ended the blackout game with a score of MSU 42- UK 16.
Last year, the quarterback for Kentucky, Patrick Towles, gave the Bulldogs a hard time in Lexington. Coming into this game, Dak Prescott lead the SEC with most completions without an interception. Securing a win would surely send the Bulldogs to a bowl game.
With so much on the line, the Bulldogs brought out all black jerseys for fans to enjoy while facing a developing SEC team. Coming into this game, the focus would be how the defense could make up with so many loses in the secondary. With key players such as Kendrick Market and lock down cornerback Will Redmond having obtained injuries, it was interesting to see how Manny Diaz would scheme against this pass first offense.
Offensively, the Bulldogs looked wonderful, with the exception of Prescott ending his 288 completion streak with his first and only interception this season. Prescott passed Johnny Manziel for the most responsible touchdowns with 94. He sits at No. 6 for all time responsible touchdowns.
If he keeps up this level of play then he should finish the season with high draft projections. Many different tail backs lined up behind Prescott to see who would carry the load. Brandon Holloway, Malik Dear, Aries Williams and even Prescott accounted for rushing Saturday against the wildcats. Since MSU doesn’t have a primary halfback this season, viewers various backs to fit the scheme that week. Wide receivers like Fred Ross and Donald Gray are becoming Prescott’s favorite target. This is a good sign to see since both aren’t in their final college years like Prescott and would soon become valuable assets to Nick Fitzgerald next season.
Defensively, MSU had some setbacks. Both Kendrick Market and Will Redmond are both out for the season with injuries that could ultimately hinder the team. Now the team will rely on Kivon Coman and Tavez Calhoun to protect the Bulldog’s backfield. Head Coach Dan Mullen talked more about the game defensively saying “I really think the problem on our defense is just missed tackles. We need to work on making those plays to start off the game the right way. That first miss on third down was a big one and we need to improve that.”
Since the next game is away in Missouri, a tough SEC road game, it will  be crucial for Mullen and the defense to step up and win against Missouri. This will also give the team a bye week that same weekend to rest up and prepare for Alabama.
 With the next game against Missouri being a week away on Nov. 5, it will be a short week for the Bulldogs. Prescott said he thinks this break is important, stating, “We got those three home wins under our belt just like we wanted to going on a bye week, just clean some things up and get some guys healthy so we can come back and finish out our SEC play.”
Looking forward, one can see much confidence on the offensive side growing, although defensively MSU is having injury issues. Next weekend will be a good rest for Bulldog fans as they enjoy Halloween weekend while the team focuses on preparing for the Missouri game.