Contender or pretender?
That’s the question facing an undefeated Mississippi State team.
The Bulldogs are riding high at 5-0 and ranked No. 19 in the nation but haven’t beaten a quality team yet. MSU’s first five opponents have a combined five wins against FBS teams.
That’s not to say State isn’t a good team — because the Bulldogs have looked impressive at times but haven’t come close to being consistent on either side of the ball for four quarters.
Outside of the MSU camp, there are a lot of doubters out there on whether the Bulldogs are a legitimate contender in the SEC West.
I’ll admit it. I fall into that category as well, but the Bulldogs can begin to sway a lot of us with a win Saturday night against a 3-2 Tennessee team.
By no means are the Volunteers the class of the East, but they are certainly the best team MSU has faced to this point.
The Vols will bring in the SEC’s second-ranked offense (507 yards a game) and the best passing attack (329 yards per contest) — led by super talented quarterback Tyler Bray.
This makes for an intriguing matchup since the strength of the Bulldog defense is supposed to be the secondary. But cornerbacks Johnthan Banks and Darius Slay — considered NFL caliber players — will have no chance against the explosive Volunteer receivers if the front guys can’t generate more of a pass rush than they have so far this season.
MSU has yet to give up a pass play of 40 yards or longer, tying for the best mark in the nation. But Tennessee has hit on six pass plays for that length, tying for No. 12 in the country. Something has to give Saturday.
It will be the Bulldog defense if Bray has time in the pocket.
Only one team, Tennessee, has fewer sacks than State’s eight. To make things tougher for the Dog defense, UT has allowed a league-low three sacks in five games.
Even with the early departure of Fletcher Cox for the NFL, the Bulldog defensive line was expected to be one of the strengths of this team. That’s yet to be the case because of inconsistent play.
State has got to find a way to pressure Bray and not let the Vols get their run game going.
“We’re not going to hold anything back,” Bray said. “We don’t care if we’re playing Ed Reed or any of those guys. We’re going to go after them.”
As good as Tennessee has been on offense, it has been about that bad on defense, having allowed six touchdown plays of 50 yards or longer in its last three games, with five of those long gains coming on running plays. Five of those six touchdowns went at least 70 yards.
The Vols are yielding 5.17 yards per carry, the most of any SEC team. Boston College (5.18), Clemson (5.36) and Kansas (5.58) are the only major-conference programs giving up more yards per rush. Tennessee ranks 12th out of 14 SEC teams in scoring defense (29.6) and 13th in total defense (425.8).
MSU has to be able to run the ball and keep its defense rested to continue its winning ways and prove it’s worthy of a No. 19 national ranking.
While MSU’s longest run of the season thus far went just 44 yards, the Bulldogs are averaging 4.84 yards per carry. Ladarius Perkins is the SEC's second-leading rusher with 499 yards and six touchdowns on 82 attempts.
Saturday night will also be a statement game for the Vols, who will either be celebrating their first win over a ranked opponent since 2008 or staring at an 0-3 SEC start with games against Alabama and South Carolina looming — with the hot seat getting hotter for UT coach Derek Dooley.
• Contact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com. Follow on Twitter:@Bill_Burrus.
