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  • Towles showcases talent in loss to # 1 Mississippi State

    LEXINGTON — Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott did nothing to hurt his Heisman Trophy chances here Saturday.

    He threw for 216 yards and one score and ran for 88 yards and two scores to lead No. 1 Mississippi State to a 45-31 victory over Kentucky.

    Prescott is a big, physical quarterback who can run the option, scramble out of trouble or make throws when needed. He makes decision quickly and seemed to almost always make the right read.

    Kentucky sophomore quarterback Patrick Towles is no Heisman Trophy candidate. He’s no Prescott — or at least not yet. But Towles showed signs in this showcase game of what could still lie ahead for him.

    Jon Solomon, national college football reporter for CBSSports.com, liked what he saw of Towles.

    “Kentucky has itself a very impressive QB,” he posted on Twitter during the game.

    And he’s right.

    Kentucky had 76 offensive plays — 43 passes by Towles, 23 runs by Towles and nine runs by other backs. Towles finished the game 24 of 43 passing for a career-high 390 yards and two scores and ran for 76 yards (he actually gained 123 yards but had 47 yards in losses on six sacks) and two scores. He even caught an 11-yard pass as he accounted for all but 27 of UK’s 504 total yards.

    He had a key third-down run two plays before he threw a pass that Demarco Robinson made an extraordinary move along the sideline to stay inbounds and turned it into a 67-yard score in the first quarter.

    He had a nifty 21-yard pass to Ryan Timmons just before halftime that gave Austin MacGinnis a chance at a 50-yard field goal that was just wide. He had a 48-yard run in the third quarter that helped set up his own 10-yard scoring run on third and goal. He fired a bullet that Javess Blue caught and turned into a 58-yard score. He threw a 55-yard pass to Timmons with UK down 38-24 late in the fourth quarter to keep UK dreaming down 38-24.

    Towles was not perfect. He was sacked too often, including several where he held the ball too long. He overthrew receivers. He was lucky twice not to have passes intercepted. But what he never did was back down and never quit encouraging teammates or believing UK could win. That’s what winners and team leaders do and why even in defeat, Towles more than justified why he’s UK guy.

    “The good thing about Patrick is that he played really well, but he still has more to learn,” said Kentucky offensive coordinator Neal Brown. “He made some throws tonight and some throws at Florida that there are not many guys can do. He has a big-time arm.

    “Patrick competed. I am really excited with the way he raised his level of play. He was coming off a so-so game against Louisiana-Monroe and was not good at LSU, but he played tonight. It was as good as he has played. He played well at Florida and again today. He was a decision or two away from really having a big game. He’s got to take what is easy and not always try to force the big play.”

    Towles agreed.

    “This was not fun. We missed some big plays,” Towles said. “We fought, but it was not enough. We made a lot of plays, but not enough. We are not happy by any means. We gave all we had and we went out and fought, but it was not enough. We just go out to win, not play close. It was nice to see improvement (from the loss at LSU), but we are in this business to win, not play close.”

    He wanted no part of comparing his statistics to Prescott’s totals, either.

    “I was just worried about the football game, not him. I just have got to make more plays,” Towles said.

    Both Towles and coach Mark Stoops said the plan going into the game was for Towles to run often because of “looks” UK had seen watching film.

    “We saw some things we thought we could do. It worked, so we stuck with it,” Towles said.

    That’s the attitude Towles had coming into the game after the 41-3 loss at LSU. He was on the sideline cheering for the defense. He slapped offensive teammates on the back. He covered for receivers who dropped balls during the game by saying his throws needed to be better.

    He also said while others may have doubted UK coming into the game, the team did not.

    “This game did not tell us anything. We knew we would be here and could play with anybody in the country. I am just not sure the country knew that,” Towles said.

    The country should now. Just ask Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen.

    “One heck of a football team we just beat. I don’t know if people give Kentucky enough credit,” Mullen said.

    Probably not, but after this game both Kentucky and Towles should get more credit for what they did against a team that remains positioned to win a SEC and national championship.
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