How Kentucky football and No. 6 Mississippi match up — with a game prediction

How the Kentucky Wildcats (2-2, 0-2 SEC) and the No. 6 Mississippi Rebels (4-0, 0-0 SEC) match up at each position for Saturday’s SEC football contest — with a game prediction:

Quarterbacks

▪ Kentucky’s Brock Vandagriff will make his first college road start against No. 6 Ole Miss. In UK’s 41-6 win over Ohio last week, the Georgia transfer completed 17 of 24 passes for 237 yards. In the victory over Ohio, Kentucky used Gavin Wimsatt as a “change of pace” QB. In 16 snaps, the former Owensboro High School star completed 2 of 3 passes for 45 yards and ran nine times for 25 yards and a touchdown. “We got (Wimsatt) some touches, which we wanted to (do),” UK coach Mark Stoops says.

▪ Through four games, Mississippi’s Jaxson Dart is one of the perceived leaders in the Heisman Trophy race. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound senior from Kaysville, Utah, leads the nation in passing yards (1,554), passing yards a game (388.5) and pass efficiency (219.44). The transfer from USC is fourth in the FBS in passing TDs (12). A capable runner also, Dart has rushed for three TDs. In the Rebels’ 22-19 win over Kentucky in Oxford in 2022, Dart completed 15 of 29 passes for 213 yards with an interception and ran for 40 net yards on eight carries.

Advantage : Mississippi.

Running backs

▪ Kentucky redshirt freshman Jamarion Wilcox had his best game yet as a collegian in the win over Ohio, gaining 82 yards on only eight attempts. North Carolina State transfer Demie Sumo-Karngbaye has been rock solid in his second season in the UK program, rushing for 278 yards and three touchdowns and catching six passes for 53. Projected to be Kentucky’s No. 1 back in the preseason, Ohio State transfer Chip Trayanum is cleared to return this week after missing the first four games with a broken hand.

▪ Miami transfer Henry Parrish Jr. has run for 427 yards and seven touchdowns for Ole Miss and is averaging a robust 7.5 yards a carry. A former walk-on who stands only 5-foot-7, Matt Jones has rushed for 201 yards and three TDs and is averaging 6.7 yards a rush.

Advantage : Mississippi.

Wide receivers

▪ Kentucky junior Dane Key (15 catches, 264 yards, 17.6 yards a catch) had a monster game in the win over Ohio. The Frederick Douglass High School product caught seven passes for a career high 145 yards. Junior Barion Brown (12 catches, 90 yards, two touchdowns) caught five balls for 28 yards vs. Ohio. Brown also scored a touchdown vs. the Bobcats on a 23-yard run on an end around. In UK’s 2022 loss at Ole Miss, Brown caught two passes for 81 yards.

▪ Mississippi’s Tre Harris is playing like a First Team All-American. A transfer from Louisiana Tech, Harris has caught 38 passes for 628 yards — which is the second most receiving yards in the FBS — and four touchdowns. The 6-3, 210-pound Harris is averaging 16.3 yards a catch. South Carolina transfer Antwane “Juice” Wells Jr . (14 catches, 274 yards, four TDs) has caught one touchdown pass in all four Ole Miss games this season. Former Louisville Cardinals wideout Jordan Watkins has five catches for 139 yards and two TDs.

Advantage : Mississippi.

Tight ends

▪ In Kentucky’s 2022 loss at Ole Miss, tight end Jordan Dingle caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Will Levis that tied the game in the fourth quarter at 19. Dingle, a redshirt junior from Bowling Green, caught two passes for 26 yards last week vs. Ohio. True freshman Willie Rodriguez , the Covington Catholic High School product, made his first career college start last week against Ohio.

▪ Mississippi’s Caden Prieskorn was named Peach Bowl Offensive MVP last season after catching 10 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns in the Rebels’ 38-25 win over Penn State. So far this season, the transfer from Memphis has caught nine passes for 139 yards and a touchdown.

Advantage : Mississippi.

Offensive line

▪ Filling in for the injured Jager Burton at left guard last week against Ohio, Kentucky’s Dylan Ray drew praise from Mark Stoops. “He’s a guy that has been reliable for us, gives us everything he has, and works extremely hard,” Stoops said of Ray, a 6-6, 310-pound junior from Noblesville, Indiana.

▪ Via the transfer portal, Mississippi coach Lane Kiffin imported two players from Washington’s 2023 Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line. Nate Kalepo , a 6-6, 335 pound senior, left the Huskies program to become the starting left guard at Ole Miss. Julius Buelow , a 6-8, 320-pound senior, took the same path from Seattle to Oxford to become the Rebels’ starter at right guard.

Advantage : Mississippi.

Defensive line

▪ Kentucky star tackle Deone Walker tied for the team lead with four tackles in the win over Ohio, one of which was a tackle for loss. In UK’s loss at Mississippi two seasons ago, Walker had three tackles and a QB hurry. End Tre’vonn Rybka also made four tackles with a TFL vs. Ohio.

▪ A transfer from Texas A&M, Ole Miss tackle Walter Nolen is a potential NFL first round draft choice. “A different type of dude. He’s special,” Mark Stoops says of the 6-3, 305-pound Nolen. End Princely Umanmielen , a transfer from Florida, is disruptive. The 6-4, 255-pound senior has eight tackles, three tackles for loss, two quarterback sacks and five QB hurries this season.

Advantage : Even.

Linebackers

▪ Kentucky redshirt senior WLB D’Eryk Jackson and Georgia transfer MLB Jamon Dumas-Johnson each tied for the UK team lead with four tackles vs. Ohio. Against a Mississippi offense that operates at a frenetic pace, the Wildcats will be counting on their veteran linebacking corps to help avoid alignment mistakes.

▪ A transfer from Arkansas, Mississippi WLB Chris Paul Jr . leads the Rebels in tackles (29) and tackles for loss (six) and is second in QB hurries (four). With starting MLB TJ Dottery , a transfer from Clemson, sidelined by injury in last week’s 52-13 win over Georgia Southern, Khari Coleman , a transfer from TCU, made nine tackles and forced a fumble.

Advantage : Kentucky.

Defensive backs

▪ Last week vs. Ohio, Kentucky boundary cornerback Maxwell Hairston tied the UK school record held by 1970s star Dallas Owens with his third career interception return for touchdown. True freshman cornerback Terhyon Nichols , an alumnus of Cincinnati’s Withrow High School, had a pass breakup and made a tackle vs. Ohio.

▪ Ole Miss left cornerback Trey Amos , a transfer from Alabama who began his college career at Louisiana, had six tackles in the win over Georgia Southern. A transfer from Houston, Isaiah Hamilton (seven tackles, one TFL, two pass breakups) mans the right CB spot. His backup, Tennessee transfer Brandon Turnage , had four stops and picked off a pass vs. Georgia Southern.

Advantage : Kentucky.

Special teams

▪ Kentucky place-kicker Alex Raynor booted two more field goals in the win over Ohio. The super-senior, a transfer from Georgia Southern, is now 19-of-20 on field-goal attempts since transferring to UK prior to the 2023 season. Punter Aidan Laros , a transfer from Tennessee Martin, supplanted incumbent Wilson Berry last week vs. Ohio as the starter and boomed a 58-yarder on his sole kick. Kickoff returner Barion Brown averaged 54.7 yards on three returns vs. Ole Miss in UK’s loss in Oxford in 2022.

▪ Mississippi punter Fraser Masin has mostly had a good seat to watch exciting offensive football in 2024. The Australian has punted only four times for an average of 38.5 yards a kick. Place-kicker Caden Davis (6-of-7 on field goal attempts with a long make of 42 yards) has made his biggest impact as a kickoff specialist. Since transferring from Texas A&M prior to the 2023 season, Davis has had touchbacks on 104 of 124 Ole Miss kickoffs. On eight punt returns, Utah State transfer Micah Davis is averaging 9.9 yards.

Advantage : Kentucky.

Prediction

Mississippi 31, Kentucky 19.

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