STARKVILLE, Miss. – Brian Hazelwood kicked a 32-yard field goal midway through thefourth quarter and James Johnson scored his second touchdown ofthe game six minutes later, giving Mississippi State a wild35-27 Southeastern Conference victory over Kentucky.
Tim Couch connected with Kio Sanford for his fourth touchdownpass of the game with 3:04 left in the third quarter, but thetwo-point conversion failed and Kentucky settled for a 27-22lead.
Mississippi State (2-0, 1-0 SEC) went on to score 13 unansweredpoints in the fourth quarter. Hazelwood’s second field goal, a48-yarder five seconds into the period, pulled the Bulldogswithin 27-25. His 32-yarder with 7:14 remaining put MississippiState ahead for good.
Following the field goal, Bulldog rover Eric Brown pasted Couchwith a vicious hit, popping the ball loose. Mississippi Staterecovered and drove 35 yards, capped by Johnson’s second shorttouchdown run of the contest. Johnson carried 19 times for 69yards.
Kentucky (1-1, 0-1) needed a TD and a two-point conversion totie on the final drive, but Couch’s long pass on the last playof the game was incomplete.
Couch set school records with 39 completions and 61 attemptswhile throwing for 349 yards. In two games under new coach HalMumme — who promised to open up the offense — Couch is75-of-111 for 747 yards and eight touchdowns.
Kenutcky took a 14-3 lead when Couch hit Kevin Coleman with a17-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the second quarter.But Kevin Prentiss returned the ensuing kickoff 94 yards for ascore to close the Bulldogs within 14-10.
The kickoff return for a touchdown was the first by MississippiState since Jerry Bouldin’s 96-yard return against SouthernMississippi in 1989.
Couch found Sanford on a 29-yard scoring strike midway throughthe second quarter, extending Kentucky’s advantage to 21-10.
Craig Yeast had eight receptions for 75 yards and Sanford caughtsix passes for 79 yards.
Matt Wyatt’s 47-yard bomb to Prentiss 5:01 into the third madeit 21-16. Wyatt tried to scramble for the two-point conversionbut was stopped at the 1.
Couch was intercepted by safety Tim Nelson on Kentucky’s nextpossession and the Bulldogs took their first lead of the game onJohnson’s three-yard run at 7:01.
Wyatt was 6-of-21 for 112 yards with one touchdown and oneinterception. Kentucky rushed 18 time for minus-1 yard.
