Mississippi
Highlights, MVP, and Twitter reactions to Cats’ dominant win at Mississippi State
Losers of three straight, Kentucky Football was in desperate need of a win as they entered Starkville to play the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday night. They walked away not just breaking their current losing streak but also getting their first win in Starkville since 2008.
Out of the gates, Kentucky looked prepared on both sides of the ball. After forcing a Mississippi State three-and-out, Kentucky took advantage and went down the field to score first on a four-minute, eight-play drive. The passing game was featured heavily in the drive, with Leary throwing 5-6 for 53 yards, including two third-down conversions.
While things started quickly, the game took on a much slower pace when Mississippi State drove for a 12-minute, 20-play drive, which ended in just a field goal. With the help of a pick-six from Deryk Jackson and another quick touchdown, the Wildcats opened up a 21-3 lead at halftime. However, the pick-six may have come at a cost, as Darrion Henry-Young suffered a serious non-contact injury.
Coming out of halftime, neither team’s offense had much substance. Kentucky had the only drive to enter opponent territory, which they scored a field goal on to increase their lead 24-3. In the fourth quarter, it was much of the same, with neither team putting too much pressure on their opponent to score.
The biggest story of the second half was Devin Leary, who looked to have injured his throwing shoulder, which is also the side of the pec that he surgically repaired last year. Leary did return to the game for one play and threw it to a wide-open Dane Key for a touchdown until he dropped it.
While the exact injury or severity is not known, Leary was in and out of the injury tent twice before returning to the sideline, as Kaiya Sheron played the remainder of the game. With a matchup against Alabama next week, that is not promising.
Game MVP
Today’s MVP is Tayvion Robinson, who caught five passes for a total of 91 yards. While the offense wasn’t the most efficient tonight, the three big play connections between Leary and Robinson provided Kentucky with offense opportunities to score, which they capitalized on.
Robinson’s 91 receiving yards are his fourth most at Kentucky and his second most this season behind his six-catch, 136-yard performance against Akron.
Box Score
Highlights
Twitter Reactions
Great drive by Kentucky to start this game
Very efficient
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) November 4, 2023
D’Eryk Jackson pick six. Enormous change of momentum for Kentucky. He’s in the right place at the right time, as usual.
— Justin Rowland (@RowlandRIVALS) November 5, 2023
Thank you Mississippi State for a STUPID penalty. Play was way over, official giving him chance to get off field and he must have said the magic words to get flag and give Cats 15 yards
— Vaughts’ Views (@vaughtsviews) November 5, 2023
Outstanding response by the Cats after hitting some adversity tonight on that long MSU drive. Kinda the opposite of the effect that Mizzou fake punt had.
— Jeff Drummond (@JDrumUK) November 5, 2023
Kentucky finally gets a 2-minute stop in SEC. Tremendous complementary football in the 2Q.
+Red zone stop forces State to kick a FG
+Pick-6 after a 3-and-out flips the game
+3-and-out leads to a 4-minute TD drive
+Stop to end the halfOne of the best stretches of the season.
— Adam Luckett (@AdamLuckettKSR) November 5, 2023
Devin Leary is playing some football.
— Adam Luckett (@AdamLuckettKSR) November 5, 2023
Holy cow, that effort by Devin Leary. Got hurt, came back in, spun out of a certain sack, threw a dime to Dane Key in the back corner of the end zone — barely bobbled at the end, so no TD.
Still, that was a helluva play. Kentucky tacks on a FG, leads 24-3.
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) November 5, 2023
Devin Leary taking a beating. Blood dripping out of various places, got planted on his throwing shoulder and had to get it checked out.
Kentucky got it on MSU’s side of the field and punting it. Mark Stoops has a three-TD lead and looks like he’s ready to commit murder.
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) November 5, 2023
Kentucky needed this win…and to end the Starkville streak, which is nice even though this wasn’t a work of art
Awesome defensive performance
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) November 5, 2023
Final | Kentucky 24, Mississippi State 3
Devin Leary: 13-22, 156 yds, 2 TD
Ray Davis: 21 rush, 80 yds
Tayvion Robinson: 5 rec, 91 yds
Dane Key: 4 rec, 36 yds, TD
Barion Brown: 4 rec, 24 yds; 22-yard rush
Demie Sumo-Karngbaye: 4-yard TD rec
D’Eryk Jackson: 26-yard INT return TD— TheCatsPause247 (@TheCatsPause247) November 5, 2023
UK is a good football team. Not great, but good.
If you’re an average team watch the F out.
— T.J. Walker (@TJWalkerRadio) November 5, 2023
Follow our Twitter and Facebook pages for more Kentucky Wildcats news and views. Go CATS!!!!!!
Mississippi
Mississippi State’s Loss Doesn’t Stop SEC from Owning Week Two in AP Top 25
Outside of Mississippi State, Arkansas and Auburn, the SEC had a very successful Week Two of the college football season. The latest AP Top 25 poll reflects the strength of the SEC with 6 of the top 7 spots belonging to SEC teams.
Here’s a recap of how the ranked SEC teams fared in the second full week of the college football season:
Click here for a recap of the unranked SEC teams.
With the exception of giving up three points, this was probably exactly how Georgia expected this game to go. Carson Beck threw five touchdowns and the defense held Tennessee Tech to less than 150 yards of total offense. Anything less would be a surprise.
More than 100,000 people saw Texas come into Ann Arbor, Mich. and leave with a huge win. The Longhorns looked like the better team from the first drive of the game where they easily marched down the field. That Oct. 19 game in Austin against Georgia is looking better and better.
It was a lot closer than Alabama would’ve liked, but it’s a win that will fend off the “Nick Saban is gone, we’re doomed” crowd. At the same time, though, there were some things that crowd could point to at a later time.
Two games against inferior competition and Ole Miss has outscored its opponents 129-3. They’ll take a slight step up in competition next week against Wake Forest, but the Rebels are still about a month away from playing a team that will truly test them.
Missouri’s schedule just took an unexpected bump in its level of difficulty with No. 24 Boston College joining the top 25. Bill O’Brien is brilliant at game planning and calling plays (not so much with making trades, but that hasn’t reached the college ranks yet). Missouri needs to be on upset alert (and ready to stop the run).
This happens every year. Tennessee looks really good to start the season and by the end Volunteer fans are saying next year is their year. But maybe this year is their year with the way Nico Iamaleava has been playing.
Of the two SEC newcomers, Texas is getting most of the attention which makes sense based on the current teams. But folks, don’t sleep on the Sooners. They ruined many of my own childhood memories growing up in Texas. This week’s way-too close game doesn’t help that argument, but think long term.
LSU was one of three SEC teams to play FCS schools after playing top 25 teams last week. The Tigers and Texas A&M both lost, while Georgia won. So, it’s not surprising to see each of them play FCS teams and neither were any of the results.
SEC Week 2 Power Rankings: Which Teams Are Contenders or Pretenders?
WATCH: Mississippi State’s Bowl Hopes Take a Hit with Arizona State Defeat
Mississippi State Crumbles in the Trenches: What Went Wrong Against Arizona State?
Mississippi
Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo ‘disrespected’ by Mississippi State football’s defensive game plan
Cam Skattebo slammed Mississippi State on the football field on Saturday night and also took another jab afterward in his postgame press conference.
The Arizona State running back, following a 30-23 Sun Devils win at Mountain America Stadium, took exception to MSU only utilizing three defenders on the line of scrimmage. The results were damning.
Arizona State (2-0) rushed for 346 yards. It was the most allowed by Mississippi State (1-1) in a game since Arkansas in 2016. Skattebo’s 262 rushing yards on 33 carries were the second-most in ASU history.
“They couldn’t stop us in that three-down front,” Skattebo said when asked what made ASU’s run game successful. “Honestly, we all felt disrespected with them in a three-down front. You can’t come in here and put five guys in the box and expect to stop six. I don’t know. We took that a little disrespectful, and we rushed for what over 300 yards? Something around there. It is what it is.”
Skattebo, a 5-foot-11, 215-pound junior, also led Arizona State with 35 receiving yards on three catches.
“I knew these dudes were big and heavy,” he said. “We knew going into the game they weren’t as physical as most other teams but they’re heavy. So when they hit you, it hurts, no matter how hard they’re coming — 300 pounds at 10 miles per hour or 16 miles per hour hurts the same. I just kept my feet moving.”
Mississippi State trailed 30-3 in the third quarter but scored 20 unanswered points to cut the score to 30-23 with 5:27 to play. The Bulldogs never touched the ball again, with the Sun Devils running out the clock on 12 plays.
Skattebo had a game-sealing 39-yard rush that allowed ASU to kneel down.
“Until the end, we had our ups and downs there, but that was fun,” he said. “You can ask these guys up front, bullying dudes, grown men that are 300 pounds, that’s fun to us. That’s fun to the front-five, the front-seven and the running back. The quarterback probably hates it. He probably likes watching, but he didn’t complain one time the whole game.”
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Mississippi
Why Mississippi State football loss to Arizona State revealed a strong Jeff Lebby culture
It was 11:10 p.m. Saturday in Starkville when Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt barreled into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game.
At that point, it would’ve been fair for Mississippi State football fans to call it a night. The Bulldogs (1-1) trailed 27-3 at ASU in the final minute of the second quarter. They were dominated in just about every statistical category. New coach Jeff Lebby looked like he was headed toward his first loss, and an embarrassing one.
And even if you gave the second half a chance, eyes just a crack open, that wasn’t encouraging either. Arizona State (2-0) took the opening drive of the third quarter for a field goal while eating 8 minutes, 27 seconds of game time. That just about decided the game before Mississippi State touched the ball in the second half.
Wrong.
Instead, MSU scored touchdowns on three of its next four drives and cut the score to 30-23 with 5:27 to play. The defense, which was torched for 346 rushing yards, needed one more stop to let the offense try to tie it. It would’ve been the largest comeback in program history.
Mississippi State’s path to a bowl game seems murkier than it was a week ago. But in the long-term, there’s still encouragement after the 30-23 loss.
“Our guys battled in an incredible way in the second half, and we’re going to hold on to that,” Lebby said in his postgame radio interview. “We’re going to find ways to get back in the building, get back to work and be able to walk into Davis Wade (Stadium) with a ton of confidence and ready to go win a football game.”
The encouragement from Mississippi State’s comeback effort
Lebby said after beating Eastern Kentucky 56-7 in Week 1 that there is an abundance of teachable moments in wins, just like losses.
There is plenty to point to after losing to Arizona State.
Mississippi State came out incredibly flat. The Sun Devils scored on their first five possessions. The MSU offense had one field goal, two punts, a fumble returned for a touchdown and a turnover-on-downs in the first half. MSU had -13 rushing yards in the first half.
There were concerns entering the game about the travel distance, late kickoff and high temperature. But let’s be real, Mississippi State was playing so poorly at the start that it was hard to judge if those were factors.
“I got to do a better job getting these guys ready to go play out of the gate,” Lebby said. “I thought our energy, our effort and our emotion was really good, but then we did not play clean there in the first quarter, so that part was frustrating.”
The Bulldogs outscored the Sun Devils 20-0 in the final quarter and a half. It was a surprise. Arizona State was rolling. Mississippi State was not.
MORE: Introducing Sam Sklar, the Clarion Ledger’s new Mississippi State beat reporter
For Lebby, a first-time head coach at any level, let it be a learning moment for him. It was his first time getting pinned in a corner. The Bulldogs adjusted correctly in the second half like good coaches do.
The rushing offense and defense both need to improve. Badly. Quarterback Blake Shapen has been impressive in his first two Mississippi State games and the wide receiver room is deep and talented as ever, but they can’t be the only answer.
That’s just for this season.
Mississippi State has its first tally in the loss column. But it isn’t a strike against Lebby leading the future of the program.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
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