No. 25 Vols Hold Off Solid Bulldog Effort, 33-21

Saturday, October 13

Starkville

1:30 p.m.

Mississippi State

4-3 , 1-3

#25 Tennessee

4-2 , 2-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Tennessee

Mississippi State

No. 25 Vols Hold Off Solid Bulldog Effort, 33-21

October 13, 2007 | Football

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

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STARKVILLE, Miss. - A near-six-minute, fourth-quarter drive resulting in a field goal proved to be a key possession as No. 25 Tennessee held off a strong Mississippi State upset bid 33-21 Saturday afternoon at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. With the win, UT improved to 4-2 and 2-1 in Southeastern Conference play. State fell to 4-3, 1-3 in the league, while dropping their fifth straight to the Volunteers in the series.

Leading 27-21 early in the fourth quarter - with the game still very much in doubt - Tennessee mounted a solid ball control drive, marching 69 yards on 14 plays and eating up 5:42 on the clock. The drive was capped by a 26-yard field goal from Daniel Lincoln, handing the Vols a 30-21 lead with 5:45 remaining.

Tennessee would shut down the Bulldog offense, which had a very productive day, the rest of the way, ultimately shutting them out of scoring completely in the fourth period. Meanwhile, Lincoln would tack on another field goal late for the final points of the afternoon.

The Vols were led by a solid performance from senior quarterback Eric Ainge who completed 22-of-36 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted once - the only turnover in a well-played game in that area for both teams. Ainge was complemented by receiver Lucas Taylor, who hauled in 11 catches for 186 yards and a score. Running back Arian Foster also greatly contributed to the UT offensive effort, which produced 470 yards from scrimmage, by rushing 21 times for 139 yards and one score.

MSU's offense, which tallied 338 total yards of its own, got another 100-yard effort from running back Anthony Dixon, who tallied 108 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Rookie quarterback Wesley Carroll, in just his third collegiate start ever, completed 18-of-33 passes for 203 yards and two scores. Tony Burks and Jamayel Smith were the bulk of the receiving end of those throws, each making five receptions and recording a score.

Tennessee built a 17-14 lead at halftime and expanded that on its first possession of the second half, Foster scoring on a 1-yard run for a 24-14 lead. But MSU answered with a 67-yard jaunt. Carroll completed the drive with a 14-yard pass to Smith in the corner of the end zone on a third-down play. UT led 24-21 with 8:21 to go in the third quarter.

The Vols threatened the end zone again on their next drive, but State's defense stood strong and forced another Lincoln field goal, this one from 29 yards away with 3:47 to go in the third. UT led 27-21.

One of the bigger plays in the game would occur to end State's next possession. After the Bulldogs drove 48 yards on nine plays to the UT 35, MSU faced a fourth-and-6 early in the fourth quarter. The Bulldog opted to go for the first down, but Carroll's pass to Arnil Stallworth was tipped, forcing Stallworth to lean back toward the line of scrimmage to make the catch, which came up a yard shy of the first down.

State would intercept Ainge on the third play of the ensuing possession, but the Vols quickly forced MSU to punt after just three plays. UT then made its long, clock-eating drive for the field goal that put them up 30-21.

The Vols opened scoring on the afternoon by marching 78 yards on nine plays on their first drive of the day. Ainge hit Chris Brown on a 4-yard touchdown pass for the score.

After the teams exchanged punts, the Bulldogs evened things with a short touchdown drive set up by an excellent pooch punt from place-kicker Adam Carlson from field goal formation. The punt pinned UT at its own 3 and MSU's defense stopped the Vols on three downs. The resulting UT punt left State with just 38 yards to the end zone, which the Bulldogs amassed on a third-and-10 touchdown pass from Carroll to Burks.

State would take a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter behind a 76-yard drive which was mostly hlghlighted by the running of Dixon. The sophomore capped the drive with an impressive 30-yard scamper.

The Volunteers would answer three drives later with a five-play, 78-yard march, Ainge floating an aerial into the hands of Taylor for a 51-yard touchdown.

The final six drives of the half resulted in just three points between the teams. UT had a golden opportunity to score a touchdown at one point in the final minutes of the half, but an Ainge pass was dropped in the end zone and the resulting Lincoln 26-yard field goal attempt was missed wide left. But UT stopped MSU on three downs and managed the clock with timeouts to give itself enough time to move into field goal range in the waning seconds. Lincoln then redeemed himself with a 47-yarder that was true.

Mississippi State now hits the road the next two weeks for a pair of tough matchups. The Bulldogs will meet West Virginia in Morgantown, W. Va., next Saturday, Oct. 20 in a 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff. The following week, Oct. 27, the Bulldogs will challenge Kentucky in Lexington before enjoying an open weekend on Nov. 3.