LEXINGTON, Ky. – Despite a couple of individual career achievements, No. 16 Mississippi State fell to No. 22 Kentucky by a score of 27-17 on Saturday night at Kroger Field.
Bulldog quarterback Will Rogers tied Dak Prescott's MSU record with the 70th touchdown pass of his career, and State cornerback Emmanuel Forbes tied the Southeastern Conference record with his fifth career pick-six, but it wasn't enough for the Dawgs.
After the first two quarters were dominated by defense, Kentucky ultimately gained the edge in a back-and-forth second half.
State and Kentucky traded field goals in the game's first 30 minutes. Massimo Biscardi gave the Bulldogs a second-quarter lead with his 48-yarder before the Wildcats tied things with a 28-yarder just before halftime.
The Wildcats hit another field goal to take an early third-quarter lead. It didn't last long though as Rogers not only tied Prescott's career touchdown pass mark, he put the Dawgs in front on a one-yard scoring toss to Austin Williams.
At that point, MSU held a 10-6 lead, but Kentucky scored the game's next 14 points to take control.
Forbes served as a spark plug for a possible Bulldog comeback when he returned an interception 59 yards to the end zone to pull State back within three points midway through the fourth quarter. However, the MSU momentum wouldn't last.
Kentucky capped the scoring with a touchdown with 5:30 left and State didn't answer.
Next Up for MSU…
Mississippi State heads down Highway 82, across the state line over to Alabama. The Bulldogs and the Crimson Tide are scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT kickoff on Saturday, October 22 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game is set to be televised by ESPN.
