KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The No. 7 Tennessee Vols took on Mississippi State in their homecoming matchup inside Neyland Stadium. UT topped the Bulldogs, 33-14, on Saturday night to wrap up a four-game home stretch in Knoxville.
Mississippi State went three and out on its first drive. Tennessee acted early on fourth down with a 34-yard touchdown from quarterback Nico Iamaleava to Squirrel White after a strange helping the runner call on the Vols. The completion was White's first touchdown of the season.
Later in the first quarter, Dylan Sampson fumbled the ball for the third game in a row as UT was driving. Two plays later, Tennessee native Boo Carter intercepted Mississippi State quarterback Micha Van Buren Jr. at the 18 for a nine-yard return. However, running back Peyton Lewis couldn't get in on 4th and one, and it was a turnover on downs.
In the second quarter, on UT’s first play of the drive, Iamaleava connected with Dont’e Thornton Jr. for a 73-yard touchdown to make it a 14-0 score. The touchdown was Thornton’s first since Oklahoma to open up SEC play earlier in the season.
With 6:14 left in the first half, Van Buren Jr. took it himself on third down to put the Bulldogs at the one-yard line. Davon Booth would rush in to cap off a 16-play drive and give Mississippi State some life, 14-7.
Tennessee ended a 14-play drive with a Max Gilbert field goal, and on UT’s next drive, he would make another for three points. It was redemption night for Gilbert after going 0-3 against Kentucky. The Vols led, 20-7, to end the first half.
To many people’s surprise, Gaston Moore entered the game to open up the third quarter, but quickly went three and out. After the drive, ESPN announced Nico Iamaleava had been ruled out for the rest of the game with an upper-body injury.
Tennessee recovered a State fumble on the Bulldog's next drive. Sampson was ruled questionable to return towards the end of the first half but entered the game on this UT possession. However, with Iamaleava out, It was Gilbert again to cap off a drive for the Vols. This time, a 51-yard field goal to keep Tennessee in the lead by double-figures, 23-7.
However, Mississippi got things going with some big plays in the third quarter. Johnnie Daniels rushed up the middle for an 18-yard touchdown to cut the lead, 23-14.
Tennessee finally started driving with Moore behind center. After a few first-down completions late in the third quarter, Dylan Sampson had great vision and rushed in for 33 yards and another Vol touchdown. Tennessee was up 30-14.
Tennessee walked away with its fourth-straight conference win to end the four-game home stretch.
Next up, the Vols take on No. 2 Georgia in Athens for a big conference matchup. The game can potentially determine the fate of each team after the regular season. Kick-off is set for 7:30 p.m. in Athens.
