Good

BENNY SNELL

Listen, I’m 25 years old, so take this next statement however you want. I believe Benny Snell is the greatest player in UK history. Mississippi State has one of the best defensive lines in the country, and Snell made them look silly. 25 carries for 165 yards and 4 touchdowns is a disgusting stat line. He should be the leading Heisman candidate after this week. My only issue is he didn’t wear the spinner mouthpiece this week.

JOSH ALLEN

Josh Allen is a first-round NFL draft pick. He dominated all game. Nobody on Mississippi State could block him. In fact, I don’t think anyone on any team can block him. He’s so quick and powerful off the ball. He’s a bonafide superstar, and he’s elevating this defense to a level it’s not been in a long time.

Containing Nick Fitzgerald

Kentucky’s defense absolutely shut Fitzgerald down. Feleipe Franks had twice as many rushing yards as Fitzgerald. Forcing Fitzgerald to be a pocket passer is why Kentucky won this game. Kentucky’s defense and coaching staff did an excellent job preparing to face Mississippi State.

Kentucky Fans

Even with the pouring rain, the Big Blue Nation showed up in force on Saturday. The fans did their part to throw off Mississippi State’s offense with all the noise they generated. Mississippi State struggled to communicate because of how loud it was on the field. Kentucky’s defense played off the crowd noise by disguising blitzes pre-snap, causing multiple false starts for Mississippi State’s offensive line.

Bad

Turnover Terry

Not to undermine Terry Wilson’s performance, but it could’ve been a bad game for him. There were a few throws that could’ve gone horribly wrong for him. Now, I know you have to take the good with the bad with Wilson. But, with this win, things are different now. UK is no longer some upset-minded underdog anymore. This is a legit defense with some serious offensive weapons. If we get Touchdown Terry more than Turnover Terry, Kentucky has a legitimate chance of competing for the SEC East.

Missed Field Goal

In this game, the missed field goal didn’t make a difference. Here’s my problem, though. Kentucky’s looked very good. Like, competing to win the SEC East good. I’m not saying we should be expecting that, but I’m just saying Georgia’s kicker is the best kicker in the SEC. UK has looked better than just a team competing for a bowl game. They need Butler to be reliable if they’re trying to compete for the East. They haven’t used him much, and he’s now 2-of-3 on the season. It’s not that he was bad as much as it’s bad that Kentucky still doesn’t know if they can rely on Butler to make big kicks as the season wears on.

Ugly

Penalties

Kentucky had way too many penalties this week, especially in the first half. Luckily, Mississippi State had more. When you’re trying to pull off an upset, personal fouls can ruin a game. The only reason UK’s penalties didn’t have a bigger effect on the game was because Mississippi State got completely rattled by Kentucky’s crowd. I’ve never seen a team with more false starts than State had.