Why Volunteers should be worried about Mississippi State this weekend

Upset brewing? Bulldogs have four reasons why Tennessee should be worried heading into Davis Wade Stadium

Mississippi State wide receiver Anthony Evans III during the game against the Northern Illinois Huskies at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field in Starkville, Miss. | Mississippi State Athletics

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Captain Obvious just stopped by with an important message for me to pass along.

“Tennessee is the favorite and Mississippi State is the underdog,” he said about this week’s game.

Be lucky he doesn’t have your address.

It is true the Volunteers are favored to hand the Bulldogs their first loss of the season after the SEC’s other Bulldog-mascot team gave Tennessee it’s only loss.

ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Tennessee a 73.7 percent chance to win, FanDuel Sportsbook has Tennessee as a 7.5-point favorite and SP+ projections give Tennessee a 69 percent win probability.

That’s not far off from the odds Mississippi State faced against then-No. 12 Arizona State and we know how that turned out.

So, a second storming of Scott Field isn’t that crazy.

There are sound reasons why Tennessee should be very worried coming into Davis Wade Stadium. And even some on-the-field reasons. (See what I did there?)

Here are four reasons why the Volunteers should be on upset alert this Saturday:

The historical reason

Arkansas Razorbacks fans run onto the field after the game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Arkansas won 19-14. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

History says Tennessee is going to lose to an unranked opponent on the road. It’s happened in each of the last three seasons:

• 2022: Lost at South Carolina, 63-38
• 2023: Lost at Florida, 29-16
• 2024: Lost at Arkansas, 19-14

This season, the Volunteers have three road games against unranked opponents.

The first is Saturday at Mississippi State, but they also have road trips planned for Kentucky (October 25) and Florida (November 22).

Kentucky will probably already be focused on basketball by then and Florida’s complete program collapse may be finished by the time the Volunteers go to Gainesville.

That leaves Mississippi State to keep the streak going.

The medical reason

We’ll know more about the status of certain players for both teams Wednesday night, but Tennessee is dealing with more impactful injuries.

The Volunteers were without three of their defensive linemen (Tyre West, Jaxson Moi and Daevin Hobbs), a five-star freshman offensive tackle, two cornerbacks and freshman wide receiver Radarious Jackson for last week’s game against UAB.

Some of those players may be available to play against Mississippi State, but we already know two that won’t be, which leads us to our next reason.

The speed reason

Mississippi State Bulldogs wide receiver Brenen Thompson (0) reacts after a touchdown during the second quarter against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The two players we know Tennessee will be without are the two cornerbacks, Jermod McCoy and Rickey Gibson III.

McCoy is still recovering from a torn ACL and Gibson suffered an upper-body injury in the season-opener against Syracuse and his return timetable is unknown.

That’s a problem when the opposing offense has three fast wide receivers, including one who has been clocked at more than 23 miles per hour before.

Brenen Thompson, Jordan Mosley and Anthony Evans III might be in position to have big games against the volunteers.

.@BShapen x @AnthonyEvansIII 🎯#HailState || 📺: @SECNetwork pic.twitter.com/HxcTygrNWH

— Mississippi State Football (@HailStateFB) September 20, 2025

Georgia’s offense was able to use its speed for big plays two weeks ago in that thrilling 44-41 overtime loss.

Georgia had a 45-yard downfield pass completed on its first offensive play when Colbie Young beat a defender one-on-one. There was also a 36-yard touchdown pass on a bubble screen play.

Those two plays alone (and there’s more) are reason enough for Tennessee to worry what'll happen this Saturday. Because you can fully expect Mississippi State to try and recreate for those other Bulldogs did.

And one final reason…

The musical reason

Mississippi State Bulldogs fans ring their cowbells during warm ups prior to the game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Some people (Arizona State) may not consider the cowbells music as much as the second-worst artificial noise-maker behind the dreaded voovoo zela. And those people aren’t entirely wrong.

The only person that may consider cowbells to be music is Christopher Walken’s “Bruce Dickinson” character.

But the cowbells have a huge impact.

Go look at the penalties Arizona State had because of the cowbells. Even Northern Illinois had a false start on its first drive that could’ve been attributed to the cowbells.

What makes the cowbells even better (or worse, depending on your fan allegiance) is that you can’t prepare for them.

And if the video message board’s reminders to “ring responsibly” and signs around the stands are shown as frequently as they were when the Sun Devils were in town, then the Volunteers are in for a long day.

Now, the game is sold out. Some Tennessee fans will be there, but expect more than 50,000 cowbells this time.

Saturday's Matchup Inside Davis Wade Stadium Is Officially 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐎𝐔𝐓‼️

Wear White, Be Loud & We Will See You Saturday! #HailState pic.twitter.com/inLNtMzVaX

— Mississippi State Football (@HailStateFB) September 23, 2025