Mississippi State's offensive production was the most generated against Kentucky's defensive unit since Florida collected 495 yards in a 41-7 win over the Wildcats on Sept. 26.
"I'm not sure I remember a team running the ball as effectively on us the way they did," Kentucky coach Rich Brooks said.
As for a reason behind his team's poor showing on defense, Brooks said his team wasn't "as physical as we needed to be."
"The disappointing thing is that we didn't tackle," he said. "We weren't as physical as we were in the Auburn game or most of our games."
Kentucky had a hard time stopping Tim Tebow when it played the Gators and had just as much trouble keeping an eye on Mississippi State running back Anthony Dixon, who rushed for a school-record 252 yards on 33 carries. Dixon scored a pair of touchdowns in the winning effort.
By the end of the third quarter, Dixon had rushed for 220 yards and two touchdowns. In the first half alone, Dixon had 116 yards, more than half of his team's total at the break.
Kentucky linebacker Micah Johnson knew what was coming, but said the Cats couldn't contain Dixon.
"They kept running the same play over, over and over again and it worked," he said. "It's tough, because it was a game we should have won. It's very frustrating. It was a tough to defend."
Although Kentucky knew what to expect from Dixon, linebacker Danny Trevathan said Dixon got through the "gaps."
"He was looking for little creases and he found them," he said. "He got big plays out of them and we needed to learn how to avoid big plays."
While Dixon relied on counter plays, the Bulldogs collected large chunks of yardage on big plays. Dixon's longest run was 47 yards, while running back Chris Relf had a 53-yard run. Quarterback Tyson Lee had a 25-yard scamper and a 67-yard touchdown completion to O'Neal Wilder for a touchdown in the third quarter.
"The big chunks (of yardage). … that's what is the most disappointing," Brooks said. "We gave up big plays instead of small doses."
Brooks said "Mississippi State did a pretty good job of blocking and Dixon does happen to be a pretty good back."
"It's not like we're the first team he's ran on," Brooks said.
Peters said the Cats "focused" on the counter play during workouts last week, but couldn't stop Dixon's tricks when it counted.
"I really don't know what was going on," he said. "I honestly don't. I'm looking forward to watching the film, try to figure out what we did wrong and try to get it fixed."
