Mississippi State vs. Tennessee Predictions: SEC Football Week 5

Jay Greeson and Chris Lee preview Tennessee’s road trip to Starkville, where they’ll be greeted by thousands of maroon-clad cowbells in a contest in which FanDuel favors the Vols by 8 1/2. Topics in our preview include: Mississippi State’s defensive performance has gone under the radar. The Bulldogs allow just 4.3 yards per play and 11.8 yards per game. Tennessee’s banged-up defense got torched by Georgia in the passing game and then allowed 394 yards to UAB last week. However, the Volunteers have been great on third downs under Josh Heupel due to a disruptive front seven that perennially ranks among the nation’s best in stops for loss. Quarterbacks Blake Shapen and Joey Aguilar have been everything their teams have needed. The Vols' Chris Brazzell has developed into one of the league’s top play-makers. Mississippi State used the transfer portal effectively to get targets for Shapen, and is running the ball better with Fluff Bothwell and company than it has in years. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.