It was the result Tennessee wanted on Saturday night.
Dylan Sampson had a career-high 140 yards as No. 7 Tennessee pulled away for a 33-14 homecoming victory over Mississippi State inside Neyland Stadium in SEC action.
“Another SEC win, a good win, proud of the way the guys played for four quarters,” Tennessee Head Coach Josh Heupel said. “Played hard, played physical, obviously offensively, some things early in the football game that had an opportunity to change the way the game is played. Just not an efficient second or third down. There are little things that they did in the fourth down that we don’t end up converting on, but all in all, a really good night.”
The Volunteers improved to 8-1 overall and 5-1 in SEC action.
It didn’t go exactly to plan as the Vols played the second half without Nico Iamaleava after being held out with what was updated as an upper-body injury. However, Heupel noted postgame that it was precautionary.
“We anticipate on having him ready next week,” Heupel said. “Cautionary measure at halftime, so we’ll be ready to roll on Saturday.”
Iamaleava opened the scoring in the first quarter as he found Squirrel White for a 34-yard touchdown as the Vols took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
Tennessee pushed the lead to 14-0 when Don’te Thornton Jr. caught a 73-yard pass in the second quarter.
Iamaleava went 8-of-13 passing for 174 yards and two touchdowns in a half of play.
Thornton, who left the game in the second half due to injury, had three catches for 104 yards.
Davon Booth put the Bulldogs on the board with a short touchdown with just over six minutes left in the half.
Tennessee pushed the lead to 20-7 at the half as Max Gilbert added a 24-yard and 38-yard field goal in the final minute of the half.
“Wasn’t that awesome for him? Outside noise, you can try to ignore it, but it’s pretty hard to do in today’s world,” Heupel said of Gilbert’s performance. “You talk about a competitor, resilient. Coming out and putting it between the uprights, it was awesome for him to do the things we’ve seen him do in practice. Great job by him, the long one by him was a great kick.”
Gilbert added a 51-yard field goal in the third and another 38-yarder in the fourth quarter.
After Mississippi State trimmed the lead to 23-14 with 6:22 left in the third as Johnnie Daniels scored on an 18-yard run.
Tennessee saw Sampson scored on a 33-yard run in the third as the Vols took full control in the third.
The running back, who surpassed 1,000 yards for the season during the game, finished with 152 yards on 30 carries.
“We had some eight-man fronts tonight,” Heupel said. “We’re trying to find ways to get some angles for us. Controlled some extra defenders on the back side within their structure, but at the end of the day, the big guys up front moved some people and the tight ends were a huge part of it all night long as well. Obviously, the running backs ran very well.”
In the second half, Gaston Moore was 5-of-8 passing for 32 yards for Tennessee.
For the Tennessee defense, it was the 10th straight game that the Vols have held opponents to under 20 points.
Boo Carter had an interception, while James Pearce Jr. Bryson Eason, Omarr Norman-Lott and Jayson Jenkins each recorded a sack for the Vols.
“The ebbs and flows of the game in the second half, where you are able to score, push the lead a little bit and the defense gets a stop and turnover. It changes the way you are forced to play a little bit, in particular on third down.”
Tennessee is set to travel to Georgia next Saturday night.
