Forget that 56-23 drubbing in Auburn two weeks ago.
This was the worst loss of Mississippi State’s season. Tennessee entered this game the most desperate team in the Southeastern Conference not named Vanderbilt. And yet, the Volunteers were by far the better team from the start in all three phases.
The Bulldogs were pushed around, anemic on offense, gave up tons of big plays on third down and looked flat out lifeless for the majority of their 20-10 defeat at Neyland Stadium.
This loss completely changes the season outlook. Eight wins is probably off the table. I wouldn’t even be that confident a bowl game is a certainty at this point.
At least Mississippi State doesn’t play anyone good next week, right? I think Louisiana State is up 14-0 against the Bulldogs already.
A quick programming note for those who are new here: Bulldog Bullets will be a weekly recurring article filled with short observations and commentary written throughout Mississippi State football games that posts shortly after the final gun.
To the Bulldog Bullets:
– I like Tommy Stevens. But I have no idea why Garrett Shrader didn’t get the start Saturday. I thought MSU coach Joe Moorhead might make Shrader the full time guy coming out of the bye week. But after Shrader had to relieve Stevens for the fourth time this season (for either injury or performance related reasons), it’s almost baffling how he couldn’t be named the man going forward.
– Stevens got to play the entire first half, and turned in two three-and-outs, two interceptions that can probably be pinned squarely on him and a drive that ended on an underthrown pass. He was sacked three times and he probably has nobody to blame but himself for two of them, considering he held on to the ball for too long. The lone scoring drive came off a lucky bounce from the crossbar.
– In fairness, Shrader didn’t perform much better and had a costly interception that should have never been thrown, but he at least gave the offense a spark at times on the ground.
– Moorhead’s record on the road: 2-5.
– MSU falls to 0-3 this season when trailing at halftime.
– I feel like we say this every week, but despite his obvious shortcomings in the passing game sometimes, Shrader’s competitiveness cannot be matched. That fourth down run on MSU’s touchdown drive gave life to a sideline that desperately needed it.
– Take all the quarterback drama and set it aside for a minute. The biggest problem with MSU’s offense is the inability to get Kylin Hill going. Hill had 11 carries for 13 yards halfway through the fourth quarter.
– The start of the game for the Bulldogs: a muffed kickoff return, a three-and-out, a shanked punt. Very discouraging coming off a bye week.
– Brian Maurer’s freshman mistake on Tennessee’s first series was Cam Dantlzer’s gain. Maurer stared down Jauan Jennings, fired an ill-advised pass into double coverage in the red zone, and Dantlzer made a great play on the ball.
– He made the same mistake later in the second quarter, only Brian Cole II was the beneficiary this time. The two red zone interceptions kept Mississippi State hanging around when the offense couldn’t get anything going in the first half.
– Not too often you see a field goal bounce off the crossbar and over the uprights. Count your lucky stars, Jace Christmann.
– Much maligned Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano had to come in for Maurer after an injury to the freshman, and you can tell he didn’t have much trust from Jeremy Pruitt. It took nine plays to call a pass since Guarantano took over at quarterback. Nevertheless, he did what he needed to do to guide the Vols to a win.
– Next four games: home against LSU, on the road against Texas A&M, on the road against Arkansas, home against Alabama. One word: woof.
Hodge is the former sports editor for The Dispatch.
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