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It’s time for honesty hour, Big Blue Nation. I have something I need to get off my chest.

Each week here at KSR, we try to give you interesting angles, insights, and analysis to review Kentucky’s previous games and preview upcoming opponents. Sometimes I’ll find an interesting statistic to build an article off of or a specific quote from a coach or player that caught me off guard throughout the week. Like always, I made an effort to do the same prior to Kentucky’s matchup with Mississippi State last night.

Going into the game, MSU was easily considered Kentucky’s toughest opponent thus far, and likely the second or third-hardest game of the season. The Bulldogs came in as ten-point favorites, and I’m not sure anyone really disagreed with that line. Given the talent and physicality of Mississippi State, most thought it was fair. Based solely on preconceived notions, it would not have been a shock to see the Bulldogs come into Kroger Field and come away with a victory.

With this “hoping for the best, expecting the worst” mentality, I decided to put on my capital-J Journalist hat to make the fanbase feel a bit at-ease going into Kentucky’s date with the No. 14 team in all of college football. I had an article idea titled “five numbers that should make you feel better about Kentucky’s game against Mississippi State,” where I was going to dive into the statistics and find even the slightest holes in the Bulldogs’ game to give fans hope. Something, anything, the Cats could take advantage of to hopefully come away with a victory.

I started looking at strength of schedule, thinking MSU’s matchups against Stephen F. Austin, Kansas State, and Louisiana-Lafayette skewed the stats heavily in their favor and made them look tougher than they actually were. After further analysis, their schedule to this point was comparable to Kentucky’s (technically harder, actually). The Cats’ matchup in the Swamp helped them out, but Central Michigan and Murray State brought them down. SFA was listed higher than Murray State in FCS rankings, LA-Lafayette was ranked higher than CMU, and Kansas State was just a hair under Florida (both true road games). The Bulldogs just flat-out dominated their competition, simple as that.

On offense, the Bulldogs averaged 50 points per game and 8.5 yards per play going into the Kentucky game, each statistic ranked in the top-two in the SEC. Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald was responsible for eight touchdowns, averaged 8.8 yards per carry, and put up 7.6 yards per pass attempt through three games. He was a top-ten rusher in the SEC, ahead of some of the elite running backs in the conference.  He struggled a bit with accuracy under pressure (47 percent completion rate), and he was still finding his groove on deep balls (only 36 percent on throws 10-plus yards downfield through two games), but he made plays elsewhere to compensate for it.

Despite suffering a devastating leg injury last year, Fitzgerald looked better than ever, easily one of the best quarterbacks in the conference.

But it hasn’t been a one-man show.

Two MSU receivers averaged 20-plus yards per catch going into week four, running back Kylin Hill averaged 10 yards per touch and managed six scores in the process, Aeris Williams averaged nine yards per carry, etc. The offensive line unit as a whole was experienced, nasty, and talented. They’re maulers, ready to throw a pancake block ten-plus yards down the field, and that intensity allowed for the other pieces to mesh. The offense was No. 15 in the FBS in sack rate, and they led the entire SEC in rushing by more than 27 yards per contest.

New head coach Joe Moorhead, known as an offensive guru out of Penn State, had the offense functioning like a well-oiled machine through three games.

Dan Mullen’s coaching staff built a nasty defensive powerhouse, stacked with first-round talents on the defensive line, linebackers with nasty mean streaks, and experienced veterans in the secondary. They allowed just two touchdowns through three games, 2.5 yards per rush, and 80 total yards on the ground per game. When Mullen left for Florida, the defensive foundation remained. Coach Moorhead came in and took the offense to another level, making them elite on both sides of the football.

I came away empty-handed, and the article was never written. I would never admit it in person, but inside I felt my nerves boiling over each minute we crept closer to kickoff. I didn’t want to believe it, but I genuinely thought the Cats were going to get embarrassed on their home field in front of a heartbroken near-sellout crowd.

Mississippi State is a really, really good football team. Top-to-bottom, they’re one of the best in college football.

But Kentucky proved they’re better. Much better.

The Cats’ numbers have been solid this entire season, but it was hard to really tell how well they stack up to elite competition. The defense looked stout against Central Michigan, but the Chippewas also started a major question mark at quarterback, and he proved to be below average. Kentucky looked two or three scores better than Florida in week two, but the Gators also finished 4-8 last season. It was obviously a quality win, but could we really call the Cats a favorite in the SEC East afterward? Murray State is one of the worst teams in FCS, so how much could we really learn from a 48-10 butt-whooping?

They have looked the part, but we had to wait for legit competition before we could truly dissect this team and how well they stack up with the rest of college football. And last night, the Cats did just that, solidifying their legitimacy against an elite opponent on a massive stage.

It starts with two players: Benny Snell and Josh Allen. The rest falls into place beyond that.

On offense, Benny Snell managed to take an epic career and turn it into a legendary one in just 60 minutes of play. Against an elite defense, one that stacked the box just about every down in a sad attempt to slow him down, Kentucky’s star running back absolutely dominated. He broke tackle attempt after tackle attempt, fighting for tough yard after tough yard on national television against an elite opponent. Finishing with 160 yards and four touchdowns on 25 attempts, Snell front-flipped his way into legitimate Heisman contention. He now leads the SEC in rushing with 540 yards and seven touchdowns on the season, averaging 135 yards per game. He’s third in all of college football, behind only Darrell Henderson of Memphis (709 yards, nine touchdowns) and Jonathan Taylor of Wisconsin (628 yards, five touchdowns). For comparison’s sake, Memphis has only played Mercer, Navy, Georgia State, and South Alabama this season, making Henderson’s numbers much more understandable given their strength of schedule. Taylor has racked up his yards with the help of 102 carries on the season (like Henderson, against weak competition).

During Derrick Henry’s Heisman campaign in 2015, he rushed for 420 yards and eight touchdowns on 67 carries through four games. Snell is sitting pretty at 540 yards and seven touchdowns on 87 carries in that same span. Just saying.

We all knew Snell was one of the best running backs in the SEC, but he proved to be the best in all of college football last night. And while we’re at it, we might as well admit what we’re all thinking right now: No. 26 is the best to ever put on a Kentucky uniform. You’ll never find a player more dominant at their position to suit up in blue and white. He broke Randall Cobb’s all-time touchdown record, he’s No. 1 in rushing touchdowns, No. 4 in career rushing yards (a record that will almost certainly be shattered), etc. He broke six Kentucky records as a freshman alone. Given the magnitude of the situation, last night was all I needed to see to confirm that.

Beyond Snell, the offensive line crushed the Bulldogs’ defense. They committed some costly penalties out of aggression, but that’s to be expected against an opponent that ran their mouths all week long and continued to do so in pregame warmups. During the game, they parted the Bulldog defensive line like the Red Sea, allowing for the running game to find their groove early. Terry Wilson didn’t have his best outing, throwing for just 71 yards on 8-14 passing and an interception to go with just 18 yards on the ground (with sacks). He did complete two clutch throws to Dorian Baker near the goal line and CJ Conrad for a ridiculous grab over two defenders, each play leading to touchdown runs for Snell.

The star back carried the load, but the rest of the offense did just enough to move the ball down the field when it mattered most.

On defense, Josh Allen was a freak of nature, proving to be unstoppable from start to finish. He finished with six tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, one QB hurry, and one pass deflection in the victory. It’s a ridiculous stat line, but even that doesn’t tell the entire story. For as talented as Mississippi State’s offensive line is, the senior linebacker made them look undisciplined and just plain silly. Whoever lined up across Allen each snap looked like they saw a ghost. They jumped early on several occasions, held (both called and uncalled), and allowed the Kentucky star into the backfield just about whenever he wanted to. NFL scouts are drooling over him right now. What you see from Khalil Mack, Von Miller, and JJ Watt on Sundays, we saw that level of dominance out of Allen on Saturday.

Darius West had a ridiculous nine tackles (four solo) and two pass deflections, making several incredible plays on the ball. Jordan Jones looked like his sophomore self, finishing with eight tackles and a QB hurry, meeting the ball-carrier at the line of scrimmage on several occasions. Kash Daniel added seven tackles, Mike Edwards had six, Boogie Watson and Calvin Taylor each got a sack, etc. The defense allowed just 41 percent of MSU third down conversions (7-17), 201 yards (56 yards rushing), held Nick Fitzgerald to just 20 rushing yards, managed four tackles for loss, three sacks, forced a turnover, and a partridge in a pear tree. The elite defense we saw through three games continued that streak through four.

As a unit, Kentucky is allowing just 13.3 points per game, tied for seventh nationally and tied for third in the SEC. Eight interior defensive linemen have combined for 38 tackles, 5.5 for loss, and 3.5 sacks, while last year’s group had just 11 tackles for loss and five sacks throughout the entire season. The Wildcats are No. 11 in the country and No. 2 in the SEC in total defense, allowing just 279.5 yards per game and 4.4 yards per play. (H/T to Jen Smith of the Herald-Leader)

Sources told KSR this summer that this defense would be a force to be reckoned with, one that could potentially find its way into elite conversation in the SEC. It was one that got Mark Stoops and company absolutely giddy, the best since had been here by far.

“The defense is looking good. Scary good,” one source said in July. “One of the best in the SEC, good.”

You can read those comments from my 4th of July post below:

Come get your Fourth of July Kentucky football whispers

As of today, those comments are absolutely holding true.

Mississippi State got chippy, the Cats got chippier. Mark Stoops said the most physical team would win the game, and Kentucky proved to be just that on both sides of the football. Plays that the Kentucky football of old seemed impossible, this current unit made look easy. They went out there and dismantled a team that many felt was a sleeper team to compete with Alabama in the SEC West.

This Kentucky team is legit and they deserve to be treated as such going forward by local media, national media, and everyone in between.