Kentucky Football 3 Keys: Mississippi State

Three-keys-Kentucky

Coach Mark Stoops has been the man in charge at Kentucky since 2013 and it’s impressive to see that kind of longevity in the SEC at a non-blue-blood program.

By Matt Zemek

Stoops has noticeably improved his coaching the past several seasons after some noticeably rocky times. His Wildcats lost to Georgia but beat Florida and have a real chance to win 10 or more games this season. The Wildcats are currently sitting at 6-1 with a very real possibility of going 11-1. Their remaining opponents are Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, New Mexico State, and Louisville. Not a single one of those teams has more than four wins on the year, so it’s a chance for UK to make a New Year’s Six bowl. Let’s take a look at the keys to the Mississippi State game.

1 – Play within yourself

Kentucky got to this point by playing within itself. The Wildcats didn’t get ahead of themselves or push the issue. Stoops has this team ready and focused week in and week out. While they might not have dazzling top-end talent, the Cats know what’s expected of them and they know what they’re good at, which is often more important than talent level. Knowing your limits and playing within them is a tough task for some teams, but Kentucky does this and does it well. It’s going to take a contribution from everyone for the Wildcats to finish out the season with just the one loss, but if they keep playing like they have been, it is attainable, and that goes for this game at Mississippi State.

2 – Force Will Rogers to make the mistakes he is always on the verge of making

Bulldogs quarterback Will Rogers had been playing some good football until the last two weeks. In that short amount of time, Rogers has badly stumbled. He has thrown five interceptions in the last two games, compared to only four touchdowns. In case you were wondering, all four of those touchdowns came against Vanderbilt. Kentucky has a middle-tier passing efficiency defense. The Wildcats are No. 63 in the nation. That puts them near UAB and Iowa State. They’re going to have to play better than that this weekend against the pass, because the Bulldogs are going to throw the ball a lot. Fortunately, the Wildcats are also in possession of the nation’s 23rd-best scoring defense. Kentucky should be able to force a turnover or three. Rogers generally will buckle when under pressure and placed in difficult situations.

3 – Get Christopher Rodriguez Jr. and Wan’Dale Robinson going

In raw totals of rushing yards, Christopher Rodriguez Jr. is the No. 15 running back in the nation. Rodriguez is the SEC’s leading rusher. He’s ahead of Isaiah Spiller and Tyler Badie and Brian Robinson Jr. He’s having that kind of a year. The crazy part is that these stats INCLUDE his really poor rushing performances against UT-Chattanooga and Georgia, in which he rushed for a combined 53 yards. While Mississippi State has the nation’s No. 9 rushing defense, Rodriguez is more than capable of creating space, especially if Will Levis can get the ball in the hands of star wideout Wan’Dale Robinson.

Robinson is sitting at 650 yards from scrimmage this season, with 599 receiving yards on 49 receptions and 84 yards rushing. The Nebraska transfer has provided a lot of positive production to the Wildcats. If Kentucky can feed Rodriguez and Robinson while forcing Will Rogers into mistake after mistake, the Wildcats stand a great chance of winning.

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