Three Things Tennessee Must Do to Beat Mississippi State
Credit: University of Tennessee Athletics
By Tucker Harlin
#7 Tennessee (7-1, 4-1) hosts Mississippi State (2-7, 0-5) in Neyland Stadium Saturday evening. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. ET and the game airs on ESPN.
It’s Friday, so that means it’s once again time for me to impart three things Tennessee must do to beat its opponent on Saturday.
I feel like one of the three things Tennessee must do to defeat Mississippi State is a given, but the other two are in need of correction to avoid a disaster later on.
Here we go:
CATCH THE BALL
I know you guys come to me for groundbreaking analysis, but failures to secure catches were the primary crutch that held Tennessee’s offense back from an output in the upper 40s.
The 28/38, 292-yard performance Nico put together last week was his best against somebody not called Kent State or Chattanooga. He was on the money in most instances against Kentucky, the offense is just that last baby step away from an explosive performance.
Mississippi State fields the worst defense Tennessee will face in the SEC this season. If the Vols don’t take advantage of a weak defense, the test at Georgia becomes far more daunting next week.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF A WEAK OFFENSIVE FRONT
Tennessee’s defensive front has hit so hard this season that the only starting quarterback to finish the game against the Vols is Jalen Milroe.
I’m obviously not saying hurt Michael Van Buren as that would peg the Bulldogs down to their third string quarterback. but you have to find the way to make the hits add up on a relatively stationary quarterback. Van Buren’s longest rush of the season was for 17 yards against UMass last week.
This Mississippi State offensive line isn’t built to withstand the Vols front. The playoff committee values style points against lesser opponents, not a blue collar attitude. Aside from the loss at Georgia, the Bulldogs have allowed multi-sack performances in every SEC game this season.
The wrath of (W)Rodney Garner will need to announce its presence early and often.
DON’T SURRENDER A MOMENTUM-SHIFTING PLAY EARLY
This key isn’t tied to one side of the ball; Tennessee allowed for its opponents to hurt its momentum early in each of its three SEC home games.
Nico lost a fumble to Florida on the first possession, which the Vols were marching down the field on. Dylan Sampson lost a fumble on the first possession to Alabama, a result of Sampson trying to do too much. The defense surrendered a 50-yard run to Kentucky on the first play of the game, something the Wildcats rode for two possessions.
When moments like these occur, you suppress your home crowd’s life for at least a few minutes of game time, which in turn suppresses all your life for the next few minutes of game time.
