The Kentucky Wildcats visit the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Thursday in an SEC showdown. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. ET. Listen to the live radio broadcast HERE or watch the live stream HERE*.
Mississippi (3-3, 0-2 SEC) looks to improve above .500 on Thursday when they host Kentucky. The Bulldogs can earn their first conference win of the season, something coach Dan Mullen believes his team is ready to do.
"I think we have a lot of guys that want to win, desperately want to win, and are learning how to do it within the team setting," Mullen told reporters, via the Associated Press.
Quarterbacks Dak Prescott and Tyler Russell have split snaps through the last two games for Mississippi, losing to LSU before winning last week against Bowling Green.
Kentucky (1-5, 0-3), meanwhile, is looking for their second win under first-year coach Mark Stoops. Both the offense and defense struggled on Oct. 12 against Alabama in a 48-7 loss.
"I think the bye came at a good time," Wildcats offensive coordinator Neal Brown told the school website. "We were a little banged-up coming out of that Alabama game for sure. It was really a culmination of four consecutive tough weeks."
Stoops is confident the bye week gave the team enough time to rest up and prepare for their visit to Mississippi.
"I think having a chance to recoup physically and mentally I think should help us going into this game," Stoops told the school website. "I think our preparation has been very good. I feel like the team is in a good place right now. I feel like we're getting our legs back up underneath us."
One concern for Stoops is Prescott, who's shown mobility as a signal caller while rushing for 457 yards and eight touchdowns.
"Anytime you got the quarterback involved with the run and they're physical, it makes you add numbers," said Stoops. "We have to be very disciplined with all the different option that they do and all the quarterback run game and then you gotta get them on the ground. And then of course when you commit numbers, you gotta play the play-action. That's the big thing."
