NCAAF Game Recap - Kentucky at Mississippi State
Sat Sep 21, 2019 4:00 PM EDT

UNCC
10
Clem
52
F
SMiss
7
Bama
49
F
ND
17
UGA
23
F
LSU
66
Vand
38
F
MiaOH
5
OSU
76
F
Aub
28
TxAM
20
F
Tenn
3
Fla
34
F
Utah
23
USC
30
F
Mich
14
Wisc
35
F
OkSt
30
Tex
36
F
UCF
34
Pitt
35
F
Oreg
21
Stan
6
F
UCLA
67
WaSt
63
F
AF
19
Boise
30
F
OD
17
UVA
28
F
Wash
45
BYU
19
F
Cal
28
Miss
20
F
Colo
34
AzSt
31
F
SMU
41
TCU
38
F
Hou
31
Tul
38
F
FLInt
31
LT
43
F
MSU
31
NW
10
F
ULMon
20
IASt
72
F
Elon
7
Wake
49
F
WestMI
33
Syr
52
F
BC
30
Rut
16
F
UConn
3
Ind
38
F
Mor
21
Army
52
F
CoCar
62
UMass
28
F
ULLaf
45
Ohio
25
F
CenCt
29
E Mi
34
F
Troy
35
Akr
7
F
BGSU
20
Kent
62
F
SoAl
3
UAB
35
F
Wyo
21
Tuls
24
F
App
34
UNC
31
F
Lou
24
FlaSt
35
F
Temp
22
Buff
38
F
JMU
37
Chat
14
F
SCar
14
MIZ
34
F
KY
13
MissSt
28
F
C Mi
12
MiaFL
17
F
NMS
52
NM
55
F
WVU
29
Kans
24
F
W&M
7
ECU
19
F
Hamp
27
Lib
62
F
Wagn
7
FlAtl
42
F
GASt
34
TxSt
37
F(2OT)
(N/A)
6
SamHu
45
F
SIU
28
ArkSt
41
F
N AL
12
JacSt
30
F
Bayl
21
Rice
13
F
Ball
23
NCSt
34
F
UTSA
3
NorTx
45
F
SJSU
31
Ark
24
F
NEV
37
UTEP
21
F
Neb
42
Ill
38
F
SacSt
20
Fres
34
F
Toled
41
ColSt
35
F
UtSt
23
SDSU
17
F
C Ark
16
Hawaii
35
F

Sep 21, 2019, 4:00 PM EDT

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Kentucky (2-2)

3

0

7

3

13

Mississippi State (3-1)

7

14

0

7

28

Hill Leads Mississippi State to 28-13 win over Kentucky
Sat Sep 21, 2019 8:54 PM

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) Kylin Hill rushed for 120 yards and three touchdowns to lead Mississippi State to a 28-13 victory over Kentucky on Saturday.

Mississippi State (3-1, 1-0 SEC) handed the ball to Hill, the Southeastern Conference's leading rusher 26 times in the game, taking some of the offensive pressure off freshman quarterback Garrett Schrader who started in place of injured senior Tommy Stevens, a Penn State transfer.

"He was a grown man out there," Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. "You can see a great player there, with a great desire to make some tough runs. That's a very good football player."

Shrader, who played the entire second half last week, was another offensive highlight, throwing for 180 yards and rushing for 125 yards in his first full game managing the offense.

"I don't know that there's too many freshman quarterbacks around the country playing like that," Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead said.

Kentucky (2-2, 0-2 SEC) had 386 yards of total offense but found the end zone only once on a Kavosiey Smoke 2-yard run in the third quarter. Mississippi State consistently frustrated Stoops' team late in drives, and the Wildcats could convert on only two of their four field-goal attempts.

"You've just got to find a way to win," Stoops said. "And getting behind and not punching it in when we're moving the ball, and not getting scores in the red zone and missing kicks and things of that nature is not a good recipe right now."

The defense set the tone early. On the game's opening drive linebacker Willie Gay Jr. intercepted Sawyer Smith and returned the ball 53 yards for a touchdown. Gay and multiple other defensive starters have been suspended for much of the season due to a violation of team rules believed to be related to an academic dishonesty scandal that carries NCAA-mandated suspensions.

"Getting in a hole really hurt us," Stoops said. "We were doing a nice job of moving the ball and keeping them off balance, then obviously the pick-six in an environment like this just gives them a chance to explode. Then you feel like you're playing catch-up the rest of the first half. The rest of the entire game, really."

Gay was later ejected for receiving his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

"I love Willie," Moorhead said. "I think Willie is one of top linebackers in country. He's big, he's fast, he's strong and he's passionate. Sometime that passion is a little misguided, maybe, but he's a guy who loves Mississippi State, loves this team and this defense. I wish we had a hundred Willies."

Hill punched in two touchdowns in the second quarter and Mississippi State led 21-3 at the half. The Bulldogs added Hill's 1-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter.

Smith was 15-of-41 passing for 232 yards to lead Kentucky. Asim Rose rushed for 105 yards on nine carries and Lynn Bowden had a game-high seven catches for 127 yards.

THE TAKEAWAY

Mississippi State: With a full complement of defensive talent and a rapidly-improving freshman quarterback, the Bulldogs looked like a completely different team than the one who lost at home last week to Kansas State.

Kentucky: The Wildcats have weapons enough to move the ball downfield, but penalties and poor pass protection stymied a number of promising drives.

UP NEXT:

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs visit No. 8 Auburn on the Plains, where it has lost four of the teams' last five meetings.

Kentucky: The Wildcats travel to play South Carolina still searching for their first conference win.

Passing

KY Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
S. Smith 41 15 36.6 0 232 39 1 46.0
L. Bowden Jr. 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 39.6
MissSt Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
G. Shrader 22 17 77.3 0 180 25 1 81.6

Rushing

KY Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
A. Rose 9 105 11.7 31 0
L. Bowden Jr. 3 37 12.3 17 0
MissSt Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
G. Shrader 11 125 11.4 49 0
K. Hill 26 120 4.6 18 3

Receiving

KY Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
L. Bowden Jr. 7 129 18.4 39 0
J. Ali 5 61 12.2 20 0
MissSt Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
D. Thomas 2 46 23.0 25 0
O. Mitchell 4 36 9.0 14 0

Fumbles

KY F FL
S. Smith 1 0
MissSt F FL
G. Shrader 1 1

Returning

Punting

KY Punt Yds Avg LgPu
M. Duffy 3 154 51.3 56
MissSt Punt Yds Avg LgPu
T. Day 3 147 49.0 50

Takeaways

KY Int Yds InTD
Q. Mosely 1 39 0
MissSt Int Yds InTD
W. Gay Jr. 1 52 1

Team Stats Comparison

KY MissSt
Points For 13 28
Total Yards 386 421
Rushing Yards 154 241
Passing Yards 232 180
Passing Completions / Attempts 15/42 17/22
Turnovers 1 2
Interceptions Thrown 1 1
Fumbles - Lost 1/0 1/1
First Downs 21 22
Penalties - Yards 5/40 5/45
Time Of Possession 54:54 06:06
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 1/12 6/10
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 3/4 0/0
Punts - Average Yards 3/51 3/49

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter KY MissSt
MissSt 01:25 TD Willie Gay Jr. 52 yd interception return (Jace Christmann kick) 0 7
KY 12:11 FG Chance Poore 40 yd FG 3 7
2nd Quarter KY MissSt
MissSt 01:36 TD Kylin Hill 12 yd run (Jace Christmann kick) 3 14
MissSt 10:15 TD Kylin Hill 2 yd run (Jace Christmann kick) 3 21
3rd Quarter KY MissSt
KY 09:30 TD Kavosiey Smoke 2 yd run (Chance Poore kick) 10 21
4th Quarter KY MissSt
KY 10:21 FG Matt Ruffolo 29 yd FG 13 21
MissSt 13:21 TD Kylin Hill 1 yd run (Jace Christmann kick) 13 28

Game Information

Stadium: Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field, Starkville, Mississippi
Attendance: 54,556
Game Time:
Weather: