After making it through the first six weeks of the season with a perfect record, the Mississippi State Bulldogs (5-0, 2-0) will face their toughest opponent in the first half of the season Saturday night when the Tennessee Volunteers (3-2, 0-2) come to town.
With aspirations of a BCS bowl berth continuing to swirl with each MSU win, head coach Dan Mullen did not downplay the importance of the this week’s contest against the SEC East foe Tennessee.
“I’m excited about this game,” Mullen said. “There’s going to be a great environment here. I know our fans are going to be fired up, and our student body will work hard to give us a home-field advantage, which is critical.”
Mullen also said winning home games in conference play is key, which is something he has emphasized all season.
“To put yourself in a position to compete for a championship, you have to win your home games,” Mullen said. “We’re certainly going to have our hands full with the challenges of the team we play this week.”
While the Volunteers have had an up-and-down season thus far, their offense has potential to be one of the best in the entire country. With junior Tyler Bray at quarterback and juniors Justin Hunter and Cordarrelle Patterson at wide receiver, the Vols have multiple weapons and have averaged an impressive 39.4 points a game through the first five games of the season.
Most recently, Tennessee tallied 486 yards of total offense and scored 44 points against a stout Georgia defense, though the Vols lost the game in a shootout 51-44.
To stop UT’s high-octane offense, senior linebacker Cameron Lawrence, who ranks second in tackles on State’s defense, said he knows the Bulldogs will have to disrupt UT’s offensive rhythm by getting pressure on Bray.
“(Tyler Bray) has got a lot of talent at receiver and a great offensive line,” Lawrence said. “We’re going to try to show him some different looks and get him off-balance.”
With the pass-heavy offense the Vols present, MSU’s secondary must also be top-notch and force turnovers throughout Saturday night’s game. Senior cornerback Darius Slay, who has two cousins who play for Tennessee, said State’s defensive backs are ready for the challenge of defending UT’s playmakers.
“I’m looking forward to it a lot,” Slay said. “(Hunter and Patterson) are a great duo. They’re really athletic, and we’re ready for the competition.”
On the offensive side of the ball, MSU will look to put together a full, four-quarter performance. While scoring no less than 27 points in any game this season, the Bulldogs have only managed 17 points in the second half of their last two games combined.
Now facing a team capable of making big plays and scoring a lot of points, MSU junior quarterback Tyler Russell said he knows the offense must play consistently in all four quarters Saturday night.
“Last week, I feel like we kind of got lackadaisical,” Russell said. “We didn’t go out there and finish the game like we needed to. Tennessee is going to put up some points, and we know we’re going to have to score.”
As in every game this season, Russell will play a critical role in the offensive production for MSU. Through the first five games of the season, Russell has completed nearly 57 percent of passes while tallying 10 touchdowns and only one interception.
Russell said one of the many reasons the junior quarterback has had success is patience in the pocket and not trying to do too much.
“I don’t have to go out there and say that I have to throw for 300 yards this game or I have to have four touchdowns,” Russell said. “I know I have to keep doing that for the rest of the game, and everything else will take care of itself.”
MSU’s game against the Volunteers will kick off Saturday at 8 p.m. at Davis Wade Stadium and will be televised nationally on ESPN2.