Inside the numbers: Mississippi State-Tennessee first half stats
Mississippi State and No. 7 Tennessee have reached halftime at Neyland Stadium and the Volunteers hold a 20-7 advantage.
Tennessee got on the board on its first possession and did the damage on fourth down. Facing fourth and three at the State 34, quarterback Nico Iamaleava connected with Squirrel White for a 34 yard touchdown pass and the Vols led 7-0 with 11:44 left in the opening period.
State’s defense produced a goal-line stop and forced a fumble on Tennessee’s next two possessions. But the Bulldogs could not take advantage of either stop.
Tennessee then found another big play in the passing game for the second time in the half. The Volunteers increased their lead to 14-0 when Iamaleava hit Dont’e Thornton on a 73-yard touchdown pass with 13:35 remaining in the half.
The Bulldogs cut into that deficit on their ensuing drive and used 7:48 of the clock in doing so. Davon Booth scored from one yard out on 4th and goal from the one, cutting the Tennessee lead to 14-7 with 5:47 remaining in the opening half.
Tennessee answered back, however, and extended the lead to 17-7 thanks to a Max Gilbert 24-yard field goal with 46 seconds left in the half. The Vols would add another Gilbert field goal on the final play of the half and took a 20-7 halftime advantage.
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In the opening half, Tennessee had 285 yards of total offense with 174 coming through the air. The Volunteers were 3 of 8 on third down and had two penalties for 10 yards. Tennessee had the ball for 13:44 of the first half and had one turnover.
Mississippi State managed just 144 yards of offense and had 93 on the ground. The Bulldogs had three penalties for 15 yards and were 3 of 10 on third down. The Bulldogs held the ball for 16:16 of the first half and State did not have a turnover in the first half.
Individually for Tennessee, Iamaleava was 8 of 13 for 174 yards with two touchdowns in the first half. Dylan Sampson had 19 carries for 76 yards before leaving the game late in the half with an injury. White led the Volunteer receivers with three catches for 63 yards and a touchdown.
For State, Van Buren was 7 of 19 passing for 51 yards with one interception. Booth led State on the ground with 12 rushes for 56 yards and a touchdown. Kevin Coleman led the Bulldog receivers with four catches for 45 yards.
