Is Will Rogers playing tonight vs Kentucky? Mississippi State QB's status explored

Mississippi State (4-4, 1-4 Southeastern Conference) fans will be disappointed to hear that starting quarterback Will Rogers is expected to miss another game due to injury. Rogers has been out since Oct. 7, when the signal-caller went down with an injury in a victory over Western Michigan.

While there hasn't been an official statement from the school, an anonymous source inside the school told the local daily, The Clarion-Ledger, that there was no expectation for the player to come back to action in Week 10 against Kentucky (5-3, 2-3 SEC).

The source also revealed that running back Jo'Quavious Marks is expected to miss the game against Kentucky. However, tight end Malik Ellis is in line to come back to playing action after suffering an injury in last week's defeat to the Auburn Tigers.

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Who has been filling in for Will Rogers at quarterback for the Mississippi State Bulldogs?

Vanderbilt transferee Mike Wright has taken over starting duties from Will Rogers over the last two weeks. Week 8 brought a 7-3 victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks, in which Wright threw for a measly 85 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. On the bright side, he was also the Bulldogs leading runner with 60 rushing yards in 11 carries.

In Week 9, the Mississippi State Bulldogs lost 27-13 to Auburn. Wright's numbers improved a bit in the matchup, with him throwing 161 yards, with one touchdown pass and one interception. Again, he was his team's leading runner, with 63 rushing yards in 14 carries.

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Will Rogers' 2023 season

Rogers has thrown 1275 yards, with 10 passing touchdowns and four interceptions this year. At various points in the season, he has been a standout for a mediocre Bulldogs team.

His best game of 2023, yardage-wise, came against the South Carolina Gamecocks on Sept. 9, when he threw 487 yards. Ironically, the Bulldogs lost the encounter, with Rogers only throwing one touchdown and allowing one interception.

This inability to convert while dominating the game has been the tone for the entire Mississippi State season.

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What's next for the Mississippi State Bulldogs?

The Bulldogs face the Kentucky Wildcats in Week 10, a game for which the Bulldogs are 4.5 underdogs, according to FanDuel. After this, the Bulldogs have games against Texas A&M, Southern Mississippi and Ole Miss.