No. 22 Kentucky rallies to topple No. 16 Mississippi State
Chris Rodriguez rushed for 196 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns on Saturday night as No. 22 Kentucky rallied from a third-quarter deficit to top No. 16 Mississippi State 27-17 in Lexington, Ky.
Rodriguez scored on a 16-yard run with 11:43 left in the game to give the Wildcats (5-2, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) a 20-10 advantage. After the Bulldogs (5-2, 2-2) pulled within three points on a 59-yard interception return by Emmanuel Forbes with 8:33 left, Rodriguez tacked on a 7-yard touchdown run at the 5:30 mark to seal the outcome.
Quarterback Will Levis played a solid game for Kentucky, aside from the pick-6. He completed 17 of 23 passes for 230 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown pass to Rahsaan Lewis in the third quarter that gave the Wildcats the lead for good at 13-10.
Will Rogers hit on 25 of 37 passes for 203 yards with a touchdown and an interception for Mississippi State. He flipped a 1-yard scoring strike to Austin Williams at the 8:28 mark of the third period for a 10-6 edge, but the Bulldogs managed just 225 total yards.
Mississippi State also hurt itself with 13 penalties for 109 yards and rushed for only 22 yards.
The first half was rife with mistakes from both sides. The teams combined for a whopping 16 penalties for 124 yards, with Kentucky drawing 10 of those markers. The Wildcats also lost a fumble and missed a field goal.
But Kentucky’s defense was able to exert enough pressure on Rogers to keep Mississippi State’s air attack under wraps. In the first half, the Bulldogs managed just 96 yards and eight first downs while possessing the ball for just 10:59.
Nevertheless, Mississippi State scored first when Massimo Biscardi converted a 48-yard field goal with 8:26 left in the first half, capping a drive that lasted just over 6 minutes, 31 seconds. However, Matt Ruffolo hit a 28-yard field goal with four seconds remaining, enabling Kentucky to forge a 3-3 tie.
–Field Level Media
