Following a 45-20 win over Massachusetts last week that snapped Mississippi State’s seven-game losing streak, the Bulldogs hit the road Saturday night to battle Tennessee for a 6 p.m. Central Time (7 p.m. local) kickoff on ESPN.

The Volunteers, in their fourth year under head coach Josh Heupel, are in good shape to reach the 12-team College Football Playoff with their only loss coming at Arkansas in early October. Tennessee earned a signature win against Alabama and narrowly escaped at home against Florida and Kentucky to solidify its place in the top 10.

What: Mississippi State at Tennessee

When: 6 p.m CT/7 p.m. ET Saturday

Where: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tenn.

TV: ESPN

Betting line: Tennessee by 24

Weather: Mostly cloudy skies with a high of 74 degrees and winds out of the north-northeast at 5 miles per hour, per AccuWeather

Records/rankings: The Bulldogs are 2-7 overall and 0-5 in Southeastern Conference play. The Volunteers are 7-1 overall, 4-1 SEC. Tennessee is No. 7 in the College Football Playoff rankings and the AP Top 25 and No. 6 in the AFCA Coaches Poll.

Series history: Tennessee leads 29-16 with one tie. The Volunteers won the last head-to-head meeting in Knoxville 20-10 in 2019. MSU last defeated Tennessee in 2012 with a 41-31 victory in Starkville.

Mississippi State update: The Bulldogs fell behind 10-0 early against UMass before settling down on both sides of the ball and ultimately cruising to a comfortable win. Even with three sacks, MSU averaged eight yards per carry and rushed for 241 yards overall against a poor run defense. Running backs Davon Booth, Johnnie Daniels and Xavier Gayten all found the end zone, and freshman quarterback Michael Van Buren rushed for two touchdowns.

The much-maligned Bulldogs defense found its footing in the second quarter and recorded two sacks in the second half, MSU’s first sacks since Sept. 28 at Texas. Safety-turned-cornerback Brylan Lanier had the first interception of his career at the NCAA level as the Bulldogs won for the first time since the season opener against Eastern Kentucky. Head coach Jeff Lebby earned his first win over an FBS opponent.

Tennessee update: Redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava completed 28 of 38 passes for 292 yards and a touchdown in the Volunteers’ win last week over Kentucky. He is completing more than 65 percent of his passes for the season with just four interceptions. But this Tennessee offense flows through running back Dylan Sampson, who has 980 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns in just eight games while averaging 5.7 yards per carry.

The Volunteers’ defense is even scarier, allowing just 12.4 points per game and holding opponents to a mere 89.8 rushing yards per game, both second in the SEC. James Pearce Jr. and Joshua Joseph spearhead an outstanding defensive line, Arion Carter is one of the conference’s best linebackers, and Will Brooks and Jermod McCoy lead the way in the secondary.

Tennessee players to watch: QB Nico Iamaleava, RB Dylan Sampson, DL James Pearce Jr., LB Arion Carter, DB Jermod McCoy.

Prediction: The Volunteers’ defense will shut down the Bulldogs’ running game and harass Van Buren, while MSU will have no answers for Sampson. This will be a rout. Tennessee 48, Mississippi State 10.