Know Your Opponent: This Isn't Your 2020 Kentucky Team

Mississippi State faces a vastly different -- and much improved -- Kentucky team on Saturday.

Kentucky wasn't exactly an intimidating opponent to have on the schedule last year -- the Wildcats finished the season with a losing record -- 5-6 overall.

But this year's team looks entirely different with an opened-up offense that's led by Penn State transfer quarterback Will Levis under offensive coordinator Liam Coen. The Wildcats have lost just one game this season -- a 30-13 loss to the No. 1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs -- currently sitting at 6-1.

The Wildcats themselves are currently ranked No. 15 in the nation, with SEC rushing yards leader Chris Rodriguez Jr. (775 yards) reaching new heights on offense and wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson (566 yards) sitting at No. 5 behind John Metchie III of Alabama among the conference's receiving yards leaders. 

Despite this, the Wildcats don't rank high in the conference in much of any category -- though they certainly do gain some respect in yards allowed per game. Here's a look into where they sit in some key areas.

Total offensive yards, game average: 12th (2,714 yards on the season, 387.71 YPG)

Passing offense: 14th (1,378 yards)

Rushing offense: 9th (1,336 yards)

Points per game: 11th (28.43)

YPG allowed: 3rd (320.9 YPG allowed, 19.3 PPG allowed)

Tackles: 12th (424)

Sacks: 12th (14)

Interceptions: 14th (3)

We asked MSU head coach Mike Leach earlier in the week for his take on how different this Wildcats squad is from the one the Bulldogs fell 24-2 in 2020.

"Different on offense, some new faces on defense," Leach said. "Defensively, schematically the same. Probably a little more aggressive on offense."

The bar was set low for the Wildcats to improve on offense, considering that they finished last in average offensive yards per game (318 YPG) with a total of 3,498 offensive yards with 240 total points scored (21.8 PPG).

Levis is outdoing what Terry Wilson Jr. did last year -- Levis has completed 119-of-177 passes (67.2%) for 1,326 yards with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions this season, also with 50 rushing attempts for 175 yards with three touchdowns over seven games.

In as many games last season, Wilson, now with the New Mexico Lobos, completed 85-of-135 of his passes (62.9%) for 832 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions, also carrying the ball 73 times for 339 yards with four rushing touchdowns. 

MSU recorded a dominant 45-6 win over Vanderbilt last week and seemed to make a lot of improvement, but this opponent looks to be their second-most difficult of the season, behind only Alabama, who defeated MSU 49-9 earlier this month.

State seemed to turn the corner against the Texas A&M Aggies, offering a glimpse into the type of heights it could reach against top-notch competition -- and on the road in a hostile environment at that. 

While this matchup against UK is in Davis Wade Stadium, it very much has some of the same vibes as that game in College Station did and will serve as a good checkpoint as to just where the Bulldogs stand as a team right now.