Mario Craver injury update: Availability report provides status for Mississippi State, Tennessee contributors

After exploding for a total of 191 points in wins against Chattanooga, North Carolina State and Kent State, Tennessee has yet to hit the 30-point mark in a single SEC game.

Even so, the Volunteers are No. 7 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings and 7-1 on the season, with their lone loss coming at Arkansas on Oct. 5.

Since, head coach Josh Heupel’s team has rattled off victories over Florida, then-No. 7 Alabama and Kentucky. Tennessee will have a chance to make it four wins in a row Saturday when Mississippi State makes the trip to Knoxville.

Mississippi State, meanwhile, remains winless in SEC competition this season, the program’s first under the leadership of head coach Jeff Lebby. The 2-7 Bulldogs are coming off a victory, though. They stomped a two-win UMass squad last week, 45-20.

Before that, Mississippi State had dropped seven consecutive games, albeit with some respectable losses sprinkled into that stretch, such as a 41-31 defeat at now-No. 3 Georgia as well as a 34-24 loss to now-No. 14 Texas A&M.

Tennessee is one of a handful of SEC teams in the mix for the 12-team CFP. Mississippi State, on the other hand, is trying to play spoiler.

No team is completely healthy at this point of the season, and that includes the Volunteers and Bulldogs.

Check out the full injury report for the Week 11 game here:

Tennessee

• CB Jourdan Thomas–Out
• LB Keenan Pili–Out
• LB Edwin Spillman–Out
• RB DeSean Bishop–Out
• DL Tyre West–Questionable

Mississippi State

• QB Blake Shapen–Out
• CB Traveon Wright–Out
• WR Creed Whittemore–Out
• WR Trent Hudson–Out
• DL Kedrick Bingley-Jones–Out
• RB Keyvone Lee–Out
• DL Kalvin Dinkins–Out
• OL Canon Boone–Out
• WR Mario Craver–Probable
• DL De’Monte Russell–Probable

Tennessee entered last week’s game against Kentucky in pretty good health. But the Volunteers lost redshirt freshman running back DeSean Bishop to injury during the 28-18 win. Bishop was in for just three offensive snaps before exiting the game with a lower-body issue in the second quarter.

Bishop’s status is one to monitor this week. He’s second on the team with 372 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns this season. Although junior Dylan Sampson takes the lion’s share of Tennessee’s carries, Bishop has recorded 54 of his own this year, averaging 6.9 yards a pop.

With Bishop sidelined during the Kentucky game, true freshman Peyton Lewis stepped up, logging eight rushing attempts for 24 yards and a score.

“Every position, but the running back group [especially], it can’t just be one guy,” Heupel said postgame. “You’re going to need [Lewis] throughout the course. And got to get [Cameron Seldon] back and fully ready to go and just healthy, and hopefully DeSean will be ready and keep pushing those guys.”

Mississippi State has been without one of its top offensive weapons the last two weeks: true freshman wideout Mario Craver.

Craver, a former four-star prospect who was the On3 Industry Ranking’s No. 279 overall prospect in the 2024 class, suffered a lower-body injury against Texas A&M in Week 8. Craver had caught a season-high five passes for 42 yards and a touchdown before being sidelined in that loss to the Aggies.

He still ranks second on the team with 355 receiving yards on just 16 receptions. He’s averaging 22.2 yards per reception, and he has three touchdown grabs this year.