Associated Press

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State had no problem showing the same intensity it took to beat Florida last weekend.

Fred Reid rushed for 109 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown run with 3:34 remaining, to give Mississippi State a 22-7 win Saturday over Kentucky, one week after the Bulldogs pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season.

Kentucky defenders including Trey Mielsch, left, and Joe Schuler (46) wrap up Mississippi State running back Jerious Norwood. (AP photo)

Jerious Norwood ran for 165 yards, his third straight 100-yard rushing performance for Mississippi State (3-5, 2-3 Southeastern Conference).

Norwood hurt his left knee in the fourth quarter, and Reid came in to finish the game.

MSU coach Sylvester Croom said he wants the Bulldogs to finish every game strong and that has been the focus in practice. "They have been practicing on picking up the tempo and finishing every drill and every play, Croom said.

The last eight days have been filled with both good and bad news for the Bulldogs. In between beating the Gators and the Wildcats, Mississippi State learned it was stripped of eight scholarships over the next two seasons and placed on probation for four years by the NCAA for recruiting violations before Croom arrived in Starkville.

The struggles continued on offense for Kentucky (1-7, 0-5), who rank last in the SEC in scoring, total offense and passing efficiency.

"This was a very frustrating game," Kentucky coach Rich Brooks said. "The first three quarters, we continued to make mistakes and hurt ourselves with penalties. We struggled to play with consistency all game."

Mississippi State had four sacks and harassed quarterback Shane Boyd the entire game, but Kentucky kept the score close until late in the fourth.

With 10 minutes remaining, punter Anthony Thornton threw a 25-yard pass to Roger Williams on a fake punt to convert a 4th-and-13. Four plays later, Boyd scored on a 6-yard run up the middle to cut Mississippi State's lead to 13-7.

"That's something that we have worked on in practice," Brooks said. "When they did not cover we decided to try it."

The momentum, however, would swing right back to Mississippi State on Kentucky's next possession when Boyd got sacked in the end zone by Titus Brown for a safety.

Reid's TD run put the game away.

Boyd completed 11-of-24 passes for 103 yards and an interception on his first pass. Quinton Culberson picked off the pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown to put Mississippi State ahead 7-0 in the first quarter.

Mississippi State led 10-0 at the half.

The Wildcats have lost six straight and are the only SEC team winless in conference play. Kentucky's only SEC win last year came against Mississippi State, and the Wildcats had beaten the Bulldogs two straight.