November 7, 1998
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Tim Couch, falling to the turf after being hit by twodefenders, completed a 6-yard touchdown pass to Craig Yeast midway through thefourth quarter Saturday night, giving Kentucky a 37-35 victory and making theWildcats bowl-eligible for the first time in five years.
Kentucky (6-3, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) rallied from an 11-pointsecond-half deficit as Couch made up for a lackluster first half by leadingthree second-half scoring drives.
Kentucky’s Derek Homer had 130 yards on 10 carries and two long TDs andKevin Coleman had eight receptions for 103 yards.
Couch’s 35-of-45, 338-yard, two-touchdown effort overcame the running ofJames Johnson, whose 209-yard performance was the second-best ever by a runnerfor Mississippi State (5-3, 3-2).
Yeast’s touchdown and a subsequent extra point gave the Wildcats, who hadtrailed 29-18, a 37-29 lead with 8:21 remaining.
Though it went in the record books as a 6-yard completion, Couch actuallylaunched the rainbow from beyond Kentucky’s 20 as two defenders bore down.Yeast leaped high in the end zone, putting his body between the defender andthe ball, to make the grab.
After a quick exchange of possessions, State’s freshman quarterback, WayneMadkin, brought his team back with a two-play drive that ended in a 43-yardscoring pass to diving Kevin Prentiss with 3:31 left.
Madkin was stopped by tackle Mark Jacobs and linebacker Jeff Snedegar on the2-point conversion attempt.
Kentucky ran the clock out with two first downs on its next possession.
Madkin was 8-of-16 for 163 yards and two touchdowns.
A Commonwealth Stadium crowd of 57,760 was quieted early in the thirdquarter as State appeared to take control behind Johnson’s power running.
Up 22-18 at the half, State drove 76 yards – 71 gained by Johnson – on theopening possession of the second half. His 1-yard run gave the Bulldogs an11-point lead.
A four-play, 69-yard drive midway through the third quarter was capped bytwo straight completions to Coleman, the last for 13 yards to reduceMississippi State’s lead to 29-24.
State went three-and-out and Kentucky came right back. Given the ball on aright-side sweep, Homer found a hole and burst through it, sprinting down thesideline for a 39-yard touchdown and a 30-29 lead.
Homer had a 54-yard scoring burst in the first half.
Couch’s worst mistake came in the second quarter, when he tried to throwover the middle to Coleman as he was being hit. Safety Ashley Cooper returnedthe interception 45 yards for a touchdown that put the Bulldogs ahead 15-10.
By TIM WHITMIRE
AP Sports Writer
