Kentucky’s loss at LSU stung, no doubt.The Wildcats, for the first time all season, simply weren’t competitive in a blowout in Baton Rouge, which turned out to be even more painful than being one play away as they were in a defeat at Florida.That said, Patrick Towles wasn’t about to let the loss linger. He knew the Cats had to get over it.”It took me about a day,” UK’s sophomore quarterback said. “It hurt for about a day. Then if it keeps hurting, you gotta play a different sport.”Towles and his teammates are sticking with football, and it’s a good thing because the nation’s top-ranked team is coming to Lexington this weekend. UK (5-2, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) will host No. 1 Mississippi State (6-0, 3-0 SEC) at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday in front of a CBS audience watching at home.”They’ve had some impressive wins and they’re playing outstanding football,” head coach Mark Stoops said. “We’re looking to improve this week and eliminate some mistakes if we’re going to go out there and compete with a great Mississippi State team.”Calling Mississippi State’s wins “impressive” may be somewhat of an understatement. The Bulldogs, No. 1 for the first time in school history as of Oct. 12, became just the fifth team ever to topple three straight top-10 opponents by taking down No. 2 Auburn on Oct. 11 on the heels of wins over No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 8 LSU.As Stoops said, the Cats have improving to do to compete with a team the likes of Mississippi State. Correcting mistakes has been a priority in practice this week, but Stoops is just as focused on his team’s confidence after its first and only lopsided loss of 2014.”I told you, other times, speaking to you and to our team, we’ve gotten beyond the belief, then it’s about execution and doing things and then we go out and don’t do it very well, so now we got to make sure they don’t slip back and start doubting,” Stoops said. “And it goes back to preparation and work and controlling the things we can control.”By all accounts, the Cats have handled their business in preparing for Mississippi State, striking a balance between learning from their mistakes and moving on from them.”I think there’s a lot of learning points, especially where we’re at,” offensive coordinator Neal Brown said. “If we had a veteran team, hey, we may have came in and not even watched the video. Really. And just said, hey, we’re better than that, let’s go. But I think where we’re at, especially on offense, we’ve got to learn from those mistakes, or you repeat them.”The Bulldogs, so far this season, have specialized in forcing miscues by their opponents.Having built leads of at least 20 points in all six games this season, Mississippi State has had to defend the pass an inordinate amount this season. Consequently, the Bulldogs are last in the league in pass defense, allowing 308.3 yards per game. On the flip side, the Bulldogs are second in the SEC in both sacks and interceptions per game.”They’ll have the best front seven that we’ve played all year,” Towles said. “They’re strong. They’re the No. 1 team in the country, so they’re really good everywhere. We’ve gotta be sharp, be disciplined and pay attention to details to succeed.”Attention to detail might be even more important on the other side of the ball for Kentucky.There, the Cats will have to contend with Heisman Trophy frontrunner Dak Prescott. The junior quarterback has been nothing short of dominant, ranking second in the SEC in total offense and fifth in rushing yards. He’s accounting for an average of 23.0 points per game — third nationally — with his 14 passing touchdowns, eight rushing scores and one receiving touchdown.”He’s as talented of a guy as there is in the country,” Stoops said. “He can run it, he can throw it. He’s making great decisions and their offense puts stress on you.”That stress, more than anything else, stems from Mississippi State’s incredible offensive balance.The Bulldogs are first in the SEC and No. 10 nationally in total offense at 529.7 yards per game, and they do their damage running and passing in nearly exactly equal measure. Mississippi State has piled up an average of 264.3 yards on the ground and 265.3 through the air.”That’s a credit to what they’re doing schematically and a credit to their coaching staff and obviously a very talented group,” Stoops said. “I guess it’s fair to say it’s a little bit unlike anybody we’ve seen in recent history here. So very balanced and like I said, they present a lot of problems because they can certainly be as physical as they want to be but also have the ability to spread you out and throw it around, too.”In spite of the challenges Mississippi State will present on both sides of the ball, Stoops knows little else will matter if the Cats don’t come ready to play.”I think because we got whupped and because we made some mental mistakes, sometimes that can shake somebody’s confidence, and we’ll see how they respond,” Stoops said. “I have no reason to believe that, though. I have a good feel we’ll bounce back and prepare well and play well.”