Mississippi State football (2-7, 0-5 SEC) travels to Knoxville to face #7 Tennessee (7-1, 4-1 SEC) Saturday night. The Bulldogs are coming off a win and have been competitive with highly-ranked teams this season, but handling the Volunteers may be another story.
Let's take a look at Tennessee...
The Tennessee offense starts on the ground
As much as the Josh Heupel offense gets viewed as a high-flying attack, Tennessee builds around the run game. They're 7th in the nation in rush yards per game. RB Dylan Sampson has had a remarkable year with 980 yards and 19 touchdowns. His success is vital to opening things up for QB Nico Iamaleava. The immensely-talented freshman has had an up and down year, but when the Vols are ahead of the chains with the run and can set up play-action, he can light up defenses. Now when more has been put into Iamaleava's hands, the Vol offense has run into some trouble, so limiting their run game is vital.
The Volunteers are elite defensively
Again, the reputation is with offense, but Tennessee is a defense-first team. They've allowed just 12.4 points per game and haven't allowed a single opponent to score 20 points on them. It starts up front, where the Volunteers boast a menacing defensive line. James Pearce Jr. is one of the very best defensive ends in the country, and they have depth across that unit. They create a ton of havoc up front, making them tough to run on and forcing mistakes on the backend. They have been susceptible at times in the passing game, but it's hard to do much on this defense.
Mississippi State Bulldogs at Tennessee Volunteers score prediction
This is another tough matchup for Mississippi State. Despite their inconsistencies on offense, the Bulldog defense should be a welcome sight for the Volunteers, who should be able to run the ball at will and open up everything else. And while State's offense has reached competitiveness, this is the best defense they'll face this season. I don't trust the offensive line to protect Michael Van Buren consistently enough in a hostile environment.
Mississippi State loses 41-16