Actually winning the game wasn’t the biggest storyline for Tennessee Football as the Vols beat the Mississippi State Bulldogs 33-14 at Neyland Stadium Saturday night. Nonetheless, they had a lot to be happy about with how the game went and the news that came afterward. Here are five things we learned from UT’s victory.
5. Injuries stunted the matchup
Dylan Sampson missed part of the game, but the storyline was Nico Iamaleava being pulled at halftime. UT was up 20-7 at the time and held on to win 33-14, and Josh Heupel said in the postgame that they anticipate Iamaleava will be back against the Georgia Bulldogs, but this was still a scare for the Vols, and it held back the excitement of the win.
4. MSU penalties helped Tennessee Football
With Iamaleava out, the Bulldogs had a chance to shut down the Vols’ offense, but they couldn’t stop committing pass interference penalties. In the second half while Gaston Moore was in there, MSU had four pass interference penalties, and they could have been called for more. They finished with nine penalties for 85 yards on the night.
3. Place-kicking returns for Tennessee Football
After a horrible game last week, Max Gilbert proved why he’s the starter for Tennessee Football. Gilbert was perfect on field goals and extra points, including a 51-yard field goal in the second half after Iamaleava went down when the Vols needed points. Josh Turbyville was still consistent on kickoffs, so kicking in general was where it needed to be.
2. Rush defense a mixed bag
Yes, the Vols had four sacks on the night, and Jayson Jenkins forced a fumble. Jeremiah Telander recovered it, and Arion Carter was solid in coverage. However, the front six had issues, as they allowed MSU to carry the ball 38 times for 179 yards and two touchdowns. While the defense as a whole was still elite, that could be concerning going forward.
1. Offense came together
Since Heupel projects Iamaleava to be back next week, Tennessee Football can celebrate this. Sure, it was against MSU, but the Vols were finally able to air it out and score, as Iamaleava was 8-of-13 for 174 yards and two touchdowns in that half alone. Despite another fumble, Sampson had 149 yards on the ground. All of a sudden, this group finally looks complete. Fully healthy, that’s scary.
