Bulldogs Travel To Tennessee  

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DATE & TIME: Saturday, October 18th, 7:00 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: Neyland Stadium (104,079) -- Knoxville, Tennessee. Television: PPV. Home Record: MSU 2-1, Tennessee 2-1. Away Record: MSU 0-3, Tennessee 0-3. Neutral Record: MSU 0-0, Tennessee 0-0. Conference Record: MSU 1-2, Tennessee 0-3. Series Record: Tennessee leads, 27-15-1.

GAME NOTES: The Tennessee Volunteers have been one of the nation's most disappointing teams thus far, and they will attempt to score a much-needed win against SEC foe Mississippi State this Saturday in Knoxville. The Bulldogs figure to enter this contest with a great deal of confidence after beating previously unbeaten Vanderbilt in a 17-14 final last weekend. That triumph halted a three-game skid for Mississippi State, which is 2-4 overall and 1-2 in conference. Considering that the two league losses to Auburn and LSU came by a total of 11 points, it is obvious that Sylvester Croom's team has remained competitive even in defeat. As for Tennessee, it owns a 2-4 overall record, including an 0-3 mark in SEC play. Last week, the Vols were outmatched against Georgia and lost the game, 26-14. The only good news heading into this contest is that the Vols are 2-1 at home as opposed to 0-3 on the road. Tennessee owns a 27-15-1 series lead over Mississippi State, including five straight wins over the Bulldogs.

It is hard to say that the Mississippi State offense played well against Vanderbilt last weekend. After all, the Bulldogs finished with a mere 17 points, and one of the two touchdowns came on a seven-yard drive. MSU finished the tilt with only 247 yards but can take great pride in the fact that it did not commit a single turnover. Also, the Bulldogs were 9-of-18 on third down conversion attempts. Overall this season, Mississippi State is averaging 16.3 ppg and 300.7 total ypg, numbers that will scare absolutely no one. The Bulldogs are only posting 3.3 yards per rushing attempt and 9.8 yards per pass completion. Tyson Lee has taken over as the quarterback for Mississippi State, and he has completed 63.4 percent of his passes for 547 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Brandon McRae leads the receivers with 33 catches and 302 yards, while Anthony Dixon paces the ground attack with 427 rushing yard and three scores.

Mississippi State limited Vanderbilt to 1-of-10 success on third down and permitted the Commodores to hold the ball for fewer than 24 minutes. It is hard to imagine the Bulldogs playing any better defensively, as they surrendered a miniscule total of seven first downs and 107 total yards. Of the two touchdowns that Vandy did score, one came on a 17-yard drive, so the MSU defense can't be blamed for the field position in that case. The Bulldogs are surrendering 20.2 ppg and 294.3 total ypg this season. Of the 14 touchdowns that the defense has surrendered, 10 have been rushing scores. A key to the success of MSU is that it is limiting opponents to 29 percent success on third down tries. Dominic Douglas leads the squad with 44 tackles, and K.J. Wright has six TFLs.

Nick Stephens threw a pair of touchdown passes against Georgia last weekend, but those plays were not enough for Tennessee to avoid defeat. The Vols finished the contest with only 10 first downs and an embarrassing total of one net rushing yard on 15 attempts. Considering that only 13-of-30 passes were completed by Tennessee, there aren't many positives to take from the offensive effort, except for the fact that the team did not commit any turnovers. The Vols are only generating 17.3 ppg and 299.5 total ypg this season, hard to believe considering the preseason expectations of the club. The ground attack, which was expected to be potent, is generating 3.9 yards per attempt. As for the passing game, it accounts for 177.3 ypg. Tennessee is making good on a modest 33 percent of its third down conversion attempts and needs to focus on its strength, which is running the ball with Arian Foster.

Defensively, Tennessee was victimized for 29 first downs and 458 total yards by Georgia. The Vols yielded 310 passing yards and 148 rushing yards, but they still only yielded two touchdowns to the Georgia offense, forcing the Bulldogs to settle for field goals on four occasions. Also, Tennessee came up with a pair of interceptions in the tilt. Opponents are only managing 18.2 ppg and 280.0 total ypg against Tennessee, which is holding teams to 100.2 rushing ypg on 2.8 ypc. The pass defense is holding quarterbacks below 10 yards per completion, and the total of 11 interceptions registered is impressive. On a down note, Tennessee has yet to recover a fumble this season. Ellix Wilson leads the defense with 51 tackles, 34 more than his closest teammate. As for Robert Ayers, he has seven TFLs to his credit, while Eric Berry has intercepted four passes.

Expect Tennessee to score a much-needed win this weekend. The game plan should be simple for the Vols, as numerous carries for Foster will equal success.

Predicted Outcome: Tennessee 24, Mississippi State 17

Web Producer- Brett Haas

Copyright 2008 WAAYTV.com, The Sports Network contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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