No. 23 Mississippi State enters “Dan Mullen Week” on a down note.
The Bulldogs lost 28-7 at unranked Kentucky on Saturday night as Wildcats’ running back Benny Snell rushed for 165 yards and four touchdowns.
The Bulldogs hoped to be unbeaten when they face Mullen, their former coach, at 5 p.m. in Starkville in an ESPN telecast.
MSU and Florida are both 3-1, but the Gators come in with momentum after a 47-21 win at Tennessee over the weekend.
MSU and Kentucky were tied at 7 at the half, but the Wildcats dominated the final two quarters.
“I’m very disappointed in our performance tonight,” head coach Joe Moorhead said. “Ultimately I’m responsible for the product we put on the field. We talked all week about the things that were going to be necessary for us to win this game. That was toughness, second was composure, third was effort and the fourth was precision.”
MSU was called for four unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.
Mississippi State entered the matchup averaging 50 points per game. A slew of penalties, shaky play-calling and an ineffective running game doomed the Dogs. State averaged two yards per carry on 28 rushing attempts.
Offensive ineffectiveness resulted from Mississippi State’s inability to stay in manageable down and distance situations. The Dogs racked up 16 penalties for 139 yards, six of which came on false starts. A few delay-of-game infractions set them back, too.
“Certainly, in all three phases of the game, we didn’t execute with the precision to beat a team of Kentucky’s caliber,” Moorhead said.
Sophomore running back Kylin Hill and senior Aeris Williams figured to be a big part of Mississippi State’s game plan, trying to establish the run in a hostile environment. Those two, though, combined for just 12 carries and 36 yards.
“In all reality I think we just came out here and beat ourselves,” senior quarterback Nick Fitzgerald said. “It felt like we were constantly behind the sticks on offense, kind of fighting an uphill battle on offense. You’re not going to win that way.”
