KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — In another of the Southeastern Conference’s most hostile environments and against another top-10 team, Mississippi State showed signs of life at times Saturday night, but its biggest flaws reared their ugly heads at others.

In the end, it was not close to enough for an upset of No. 7 Tennessee, as the Volunteers took the lead on their opening drive and never looked back in a 33-14 victory over the Bulldogs.

Facing one of the best pass rushes in all of college football, freshman quarterback Michael Van Buren looked as flustered as he has all season since taking over as MSU’s starter. He completed just one of his first five passes for minus-1 yard, including overthrowing a wide-open tight end Seydou Traore. After the Bulldogs (2-8, 0-6 SEC) recovered a fumble deep in their own territory, Van Buren gave the ball right back with an interception two plays later.

Still, MSU found some openings in the running game against the SEC’s second-best run defense. Davon Booth picked up chunk plays of 19 and 17 yards on the ground in the first half, and Johnnie Daniels and Van Buren found running room as well. The only receiver making plays in the first half was Kevin Coleman, who had 45 of his team’s 51 receiving yards through the first two quarters.

After a Bulldogs three-and-out to start the game, Tennessee (8-1, 5-1) used star running back Dylan Sampson to move into MSU territory, then quarterback Nico Iamaleava connected with a wide-open Squirrel White on a deep ball on fourth down to give the Volunteers an early seven-point lead. But Tennessee fumbled on its next possession, and the Bulldogs stopped Peyton Lewis on the goal line following Van Buren’s interception.

MSU kept it a one-score game after a quarter before the Volunteers doubled their lead on a one-play drive, with Iamaleava finding Dont’e Thornton Jr. for a 73-yard touchdown. The Bulldogs responded by taking nearly eight minutes off the clock, driving 75 yards in 16 plays and converting two third downs and two fourth downs. Booth put the visitors on the board with a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal.

Tennessee answered with a field goal with less than a minute left in the half, and then instead of running out the clock, MSU decided to be aggressive. But Van Buren threw two incomplete passes and the Volunteers got the ball back in plus territory after a punt return by Boo Carter, who had the interception earlier. The hosts added another field goal before the break to go up 20-7.

Iamaleava missed the second half with an upper-body injury, and Tennessee went three-and-out on its first drive of the third quarter. The Bulldogs got closer on an 18-yard touchdown run from Daniels, but Sampson began to impose his will and gave the Volunteers a 16-point lead with a 33-yard rushing touchdown.

Takeaways

1. These running backs will fight for every last yard. And the MSU offensive line continued to have success in run blocking, even against an outstanding defensive front. The Bulldogs had seven runs of at least 10 yards, including five that went for at least 15. Right guard Marlon Martinez was winning his one-on-one matchups in the trenches, allowing MSU to create some big gains up the middle.

2. This was Michael Van Buren’s worst game of the season. The freshman still has lots of room to grow in head coach Jeff Lebby’s offense, and he was harassed all night by a deep defensive line from Tennessee. Van Buren never spotted Carter on the interception, and although he did have success on a couple of scrambles, he took four more sacks and finished just 10-of-26 passing for 92 yards. Saturday was also his first start in which he did not have a touchdown through the air or on the ground.

3. The defense showed some signs of improvement. In the first half, the Bulldogs limited Sampson, one of the top running backs in the country, and they held the Volunteers scoreless on three straight possessions. MSU forced three three-and-outs on the night and safety Isaac Smith, who has been playing in the box much of the time, had 20 tackles (nine of them solo). Tennessee still put up nearly 450 yards of offense, but it could have been much worse.