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View Full Version : Last year vs Miss. State



Darrell KSR
10-05-2012, 11:41 PM
After a momentum-building win the week before against Jacksonville State, the University of
Kentucky football could not keep its winning habits, falling to Southeastern Conference foe Mississippi
State 28-16 at Commonwealth Stadium.

Mississippi State quarterbacks Tyler Russell and Chris Relf rotated during the game and combined
for 264 passing yards and each threw for a touchdown. UK also used multiple quarterbacks after starter
Morgan Newton suffered a right ankle sprain in the first quarter and did not return. Freshman Maxwell
Smith replaced him and finished 26-of-33 for 174 yards.

After UK forced a MSU fumble on its first drive of the game, leading to a Craig McIntosh field goal
and a 3-0 UK lead, Mississippi State drive 80 yards down the field in eight plays and 2:13 to take a lead
they would not relinquish. The Bulldogs scored again on their next possession as Relf ran the ball in
from three yards out to put MSU up 14-3.

Kentucky again recovered an MSU fumble deep in its own territory and get another field goal from
McIntosh, this one from 22 yards out. MSU countered with a four-play, 80-yard drive to take a 21-6
lead into the half.

Kentucky forced Mississippi State to go three-and-out to start the second half and tacked on three
points on the ensuing possession when McIntosh nailed a 35-yard field goal with 8:13 to go in the third
quarter. MSU answered the UK score with another 80-yard touchdown drive, capped by a 13-yard
strike from Russell to Malcolm Johnson, to give MSU its biggest lead at 28-9.

Behind solid play by Smith, UK put together some impressive drives late in the game, including a
11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive early in the fourth quarter behind a four-yard touchdown run by
Jonathan George to cut the lead to 28-16. On UK’s next possession, Smith led the Wildcats on another
drive and he converted on third downs in the air three times on the drive. But his fourth-and-7 pass
from the Mississippi State 8-yard line with just under five minutes was incomplete, ending UK’s comeback
effort.

Smith’s primary target during the game was wide receiver Matt Roark, who posted career highs with
13 catches for 116 yards, tying for the second-most receptions in a game in school history. Linebacker
Danny Trevathan paced the defense with a career-high-tying 17 tackles, along with an interception and
a forced fumble that was recovered by the Wildcats.