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Kentucky Wildcats at Mississippi State Bulldogs
- Game Time: 7 pm ET on October 30th, 2021.
- Location: Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi.
- TV Channel: SEC Network will have today’s TV coverage.
- Announcers: Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers and Cole Cubelic will call the action.
- Live Online Stream: WatchESPN, the ESPN app, or use a free trial of fuboTV.
- Replay: WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings).
- Radio: UK Sports Network with Tom Leach, Jeff Piecoro and Dick Gabriel calling the action.
- Satellite Radio: Sirius — 113; XM — 190
- Tickets
- Rosters: UK | MSU
- Weather: 56 °F with a zero percent chance of rain and winds up to 3.4 miles per hour, per Covers.com.
- Odds: The Bulldogs opened as 1-point favorites and are now favored by 1.5 points. ESPN’s matchup predictor gives the home team a 53.4% of winning.
- Score Projection: TeamRankings is predicting a 24-23 win for Mississippi State. Go here for more betting info and game predictions.
After an agonizing two weeks of waiting, the Big Blue Nation can let out a collective sigh of relief now that the return of the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday is just a few days away.
Fresh off their mid-season bye, No. 12 Kentucky heads to Starkville in hopes of improving their record to an incredible 7-1.
The SEC showdown will kick off at 7:00 pm ET on the SEC Network.
The Cats should be a bit more physically and emotionally rested after competing against the gauntlet that was Florida, LSU and Georgia.
Things rarely get any easier in the best football conference in America, especially on the road.
Traveling to Mississippi State has proven to be a major thorn in UK’s side for over a decade now. Anybody who’s ever made the trip to Starkville will tell you about the ringing in their ears from the cow bell mayhem inside Davis Wade Stadium.
The last win there came way back in 2008, and it took a blocked extra point and heroics from Randall Cobb to escape with a 14-13 victory. Despite being the 12th-ranked team in America, initial betting odds had the Cats as a slight underdog. It was quickly bet down, and UK currently is listed as a 1-point favorite at DraftKings.
There will be some extra skin in the game on Saturday because the all-time series record between the two is tied at 24-24.
Then there is always the added bonus of Mike Leach content when the Bulldogs show up on the schedule.
“They play together, they play hard. They’ve had some close ones that they’ve gotten out of. That’s the biggest thing, finding guys that play hard and play together.” Leach said about the match-up with Kentucky. Leach said.
He’d later go on a Ted Lasso rant and not being interested in watching TV shows on his phone.
Humor aside, Mike Leach has a solid team who’s 4-3 record may not be representative of their body of work through seven games. The Bulldogs lost to Memphis and LSU in consecutive weeks back in September by a combined five points. The third loss came by way of a predictable hammering from Nick Saban and Alabama.
This game could very easily be a matchup of two 7-1 teams that would have likely prompted another 3:30 CBS slot.
Adding the additional element of the hostile road atmosphere, and you begin to see what a challenging test this will be for Mark Stoops and his staff.
The last time UK traveled to Mississippi State things didn’t go so well. Lynn Bowden hadn’t been placed under center yet, and the Cats were bested 28-13.
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The UK secondary will be a primary focus as they’ll be up against the leading passing by yardage in the entire conference.
Sophomore quarterback Will Rogers has torched opposing defenses for over 2,500 yards passing this season to go along with 18 touchdowns.
The Mississippi native spreads the ball around to various receivers, but his primary target has been Makai Polk. Rogers and Polk have hooked up for six touchdowns this season along with a few monster games tallying 10+ receptions and over 125 yards receiving.
It’s of my opinion that the Cats will have to hold Mississippi State under their 27 points per game average to win on the road in Starkville.
This Kentucky defense led by Brad White has more than proven they are capable of such a feat.
The Bulldogs have surrendered a ton of big plays already this season, so it could be a great opportunity to get Will Levis and the Kentucky passing game on track. Watch out for Chris Rodriguez finally breaking off a touchdown run of 30+ yards.
No matter how it happens, getting out of Starkville with a win would be yet another impressive accomplishment for Mark Stoops and the Kentucky football program.