Today we’re checking out Kentucky’s 8th Game and 3rd Street Game: a trip to Starkville, Mississippi to face Mike Leach’s cowbell-ringing bulldogs.
Things are not looking good for Kentucky here. They have never won on Hail State turf under Stoops, with their last win there in 2008 under Rich Brooks. This game also includes a brutal four-game series from Florida, LSU, @Georgia, and now @MSU.
The Wildcats rolled 24-2 across Mississippi State last year and choked off the Lexington airstrike, but I know Mike Leach won’t go down so easily the second time around. UK vs MSU always depends on whose hosting.
The Wildcats have won the last three games in Lexington but lost the last six in Starkville. Those games weren’t really close either. Their last trip was only a 28-13 defeat and I don’t think either team will run away from the other in this game.
The state of Mississippi will have some momentum even after Missouri was demolished in the 2020 season finale with a bowl win over Tulsa. While the Bulldogs looked like weaklings when they failed to score double digits for most of last season, I would be surprised to see the Air Raid getting stifled like this again, especially after an entire off-season of training and preparation.
A few facts about football in Kentucky: They almost always lose in Starkville, they almost always lose right after the Georgia game, and they almost always struggle with consecutive SEC street games towards the end of the year. I don’t think they’ll win this time. It is certainly within their grasp, but this is not the type of game that they have so far shown they can win.
An X-factor that could turn the script around – interception. The Wildcats were great at catching picks last year, and a few more pick sixes in Mississippi would shoot down the airstrike.
forecast: Mississippi State 30, Kentucky 24
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