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Upset alert: Kentucky has chance if it can contain Dak Prescott
By Chris Wright
Published:
Kentucky is a double-digit underdog Saturday night in Starkville.
For good reason. A lot of them, actually. The Wildcats have lost six straight in the series and haven’t won at Starkville since 2008. Mississippi State still has Dak Prescott, who last week became the third SEC QB to throw for 50 touchdowns and run for 30 in his career. Prescott still hasn’t thrown an interception this season, either.
So there’s a lot to like. But if you’re going to end a streak that dates to 1977, you need a signature upset or two — and a quarterback capable of delivering it.
Hello, Patrick Towles.
Kentucky (4-2, 2-2 SEC) at Mississippi State (5-2, 1-2), 7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network: Kentucky scored 31 against a far superior MSU defense last year. No SEC team scored more against the Bulldogs. Towles threw for a career-best 390 yards and two touchdowns, so he should enter the game confident the Cats can move the ball. He’s also coming off back-to-back 300-yard passing games, the first time in his career he’s done that.
Kentucky must contain Prescott or it’s a moot point, but the other Bulldogs aren’t nearly as explosive this season as last season. They haven’t scored more than three touchdowns in any of their three SEC games, so unlike last season, this won’t be a race to 50. Or even 40. Kentucky, at 2-2 in the SEC, hasn’t posted a winning season in the SEC since 1977. An upset in Starkville would be a huge step in putting that streak to bed.
Managing Editor
A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.
