Mississippi State matched its 2007 loss total on Saturday, falling 34-3 to Tennessee (3-4, 1-3 SEC) in Knoxville.
The Bulldogs (2-5, 1-3) managed to keep the game close through the first half. The halftime score was 6-3 in favor of the Big Orange.
MSU head coach Sylvester Croom lamented the Bulldogs’ missed opportunities in the first half.
“We had our opportunities. We were so close on a couple plays in the first half and we just didn’t make them,” Croom said.
One of those missed opportunities was a 39-yard field goal attempt by Adam Carlson that sailed wide left.
Offensive coordinator Woody McCorvey recalled two particular opportunities the offense missed in the passing game.
“We had two guys running wide open. One of them we missed and the other we just didn’t see,” McCorvey said.
Junior quarterback Tyson Lee accepted the blame for many of the offense’s missed opportunities.
“I didn’t make the throws,” Lee said. “If you don’t make the throws, you can’t expect for good things to happen.”
Lee played most of the game with a brace on his left knee after suffering a sprained MCL in the game’s opening drive.
Croom commended Lee on his effort in the game.
“There’s no question that [the injury] shook him up,” Croom said. “He showed a lot of courage coming back and battling the way he did.”
While the first half was very close, the second half was a different matter entirely. Tennessee set the tone by taking the opening kickoff and marching 53 yards for a Montario Hardesty touchdown.
The rest of the third quarter was uneventful, seeing the teams exchange punts and pick up one first down each.
The fourth quarter began with Lee’s first interception as a Bulldog. After a Tennessee three-and-out, Lee followed up with his second and third interceptions, both returned for touchdowns.
“I threw to the wrong person,” Lee said.
That proved to be the end of Lee’s day, as he watched the rest of the game from the sidelines.
Croom said the decision to pull Lee was not due to poor performance.
“I told him it wasn’t because of the last interception,” Croom said. “I thought our chances of coming back at that time were distant, and I wasn’t going to take a chance on him taking another hit.”
The second interception was made by sophomore defensive back Eric Berry. His 72 return yards on that pick put him in first place on the SEC’s career interception return yardage list with 397 yards on 10 picks. The touchdown was the second of his career.
Lee complimented Berry and the rest of the Volunteer secondary after the game.
“[Tennessee’s] secondary is great,” Lee said. “Their back seven really did a wonderful job of disguising their coverage and really they just made plays.”