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Mississippi State vs. Kentucky prediction and game preview. Projecting who wins the matchup between the Bulldogs and Wildcats.

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Mississippi State vs. Kentucky Game Preview

When: Saturday, October 22 – 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: Commonwealth Stadium, Lexington, KY
TV Broadcast: SEC Network

It has been a rough season for Mississippi State, but there were some positives that came out of the 28-21 overtime loss to BYU in Provo this past week. Despite giving up four touchdowns to Cougars quarterback Taysom Hill, the defense held BYU to 311 yards, well below the average for the Cougars.

Kentucky enjoyed its bye week after leveling its record to 3-3 in a win over Vanderbilt. The offense is still a problem, but running back Boom Williams has the potential to score at any time and can shoulder the load for the Wildcats.

What To Know About Mississippi State

A.D. (After Dak) has proven more difficult than the Bulldogs could imagine. Nick Fitzgerald has received most of the playing time at the quarterback position, and has done a decent job, throwing for 998 yards, eight touchdowns to four interceptions and rushing for two more. And yet, the offense hasn’t seemed to click. A lack of a running game has been one of the issues as all the pressure has been put on Fitzgerald.

The defense stepped up a little bit in the loss to BYU, and will now face a Kentucky team that has not been able to anything with the ball. Linebacker Richie Brown will look to swallow up the Wildcats’ running game along with defensive lineman A.J. Jefferson.

What to Know About Kentucky

Head coach Mark Stoops likes the direction his team is going, but for the Wildcats to be successful down the stretch and make a bowl game, the offense will have to wake up from its slumber. In four SEC games, Kentucky has mustered only 50 points. Not having starting quarterback Drew Barker for three of those games is a problem, but his replacement Stephen Johnson has to be better.

In their two conference wins, the Wildcats have given up only 23 points combined. That was to South Carolina and Vanderbilt, who are even more inept on offense than Kentucky. Mississippi State doesn’t pose a major threat, but for the Wildcats to get another win, they must keep it a low-scoring game.

Advantages

Offense: Mississippi State. The Bulldogs aren’t exactly dynamic with the ball, but the threat of wide receiver Fred Ross is enough to give them the edge over Kentucky.

Defense: Tie. Neither inspire a lot of confidence, as both have been torched by better teams in the SEC.

Special Teams: Kentucky. Austin MacGinnis hasn’t had many chances, but he is 5-of-6 on field goal attempts including a long of 46 yards.

Coaching: Mississippi State. Dan Mullen will get the Bulldogs through these growing pains.

Intangibles: Kentucky. The crowd will arrive from an afternoon at Keeneland ready to make some noise …

Matchup To Watch

Kentucky Crowd vs. Doldrums of Game

… but what happens once the offense continually goes three-and-out and can’t find any rhythm?

Mississippi State vs. Kentucky Betting Odds

Spread: Mississippi State -3
Over/Under: 53.5

Mississippi State vs. Kentucky Prediction

If you are looking for a high-scoring shootout with two exciting offenses, then you will want to tune in to another game. This has a defensive struggle written all over it, and whoever can put together a few touchdowns will win the game. I’m going back and forth on who that will be, but for now, I’m going to give the edge to Kentucky. They have won games like this against South Carolina and Vanderbilt. They will get the job done once again as Boom Williams goes for over 150 yards on the ground.

Mississippi State vs. Kentucky Score Prediction: Kentucky 23, Mississippi State 20

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