Dynamic quarterback Joey Aguilar leads No. 15 Tennessee into a matchup with undefeated Mississippi State on Saturday afternoon in the Bulldogs’ Southeastern Conference opener at Starkville, Miss.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel sees a better Mississippi State squad than last season when the Volunteers won 33-14 in Knoxville.
“Well, I think their entire roster, they’re deeper than they were a year ago,” Heupel said. “Their young guys that they had a year ago have continued to develop, they’re playing extremely well. They obviously added some bodies through the portal, as well. … That’s why they’re playing the way that they are defensively.”
Tennessee (3-1, 0-1 SEC) is visiting Mississippi State for the first time since taking a 41-31 loss there in 2012. Heupel outlined how his team will have to prepare for Starkville’s trademark cowbells.
“Communication starts with (center Sam Pendleton) and then being able to get all five (offensive linemen) and your tight ends in sync as far as your targets, and then your double teams and all that comes off of it,” Heupel said. “That will be important in this one. Crowd noise, structural recognition, all of it.”
Those pieces will be working to support Aguilar, one of the SEC’s best surprises. The former Appalachian State star, who enrolled at UCLA in the spring but never played a game for the Bruins, has completed 66.7 percent of his passes for 1,124 yards with 12 touchdowns and three interceptions.
On defense, the Volunteers have 15 sacks, tied for sixth in the nation.
The Bulldogs, meanwhile, are 4-0 for the first time since 2014, a mark that includes an upset of then-No. 12 Arizona State. However, that was the lone power conference team that Mississippi State has met.
Tennessee has played two power conference schools thus far — then-No. 6 Georgia and Syracuse, which last weekend thumped Clemson. The Volunteers routed the Orange 45-26 in Week 1 at Atlanta. Two weeks later on Rocky Top, they wasted a two-touchdown lead over Georgia, missed a potential game-winning 43-yard field goal in the final seconds of regulation and fell 44-41 in overtime.
Second-year Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby worked in 2018 and 2019 as quarterbacks coach and later offensive coordinator at UCF, where Heupel was then the head coach.
“His consistency in how he leads every single day,” Lebby said of Heupel. “Having the ability to be able to work for him for those two years, it’s been a long-lasting relationship there. Able to see him in the moment, in the building every single day, as a leader and a first-time head coach.”
The Bulldogs enter this weekend 39th in the nation in total offense at 444 yards per game — 206.5 on the ground (31st) and 237.5 through the air (64th).
Fluff Bothwell leads Mississippi State with 271 yards rushing and is tied with the team lead in touchdowns (four) with top wide receiver Brenen Thompson, who has gained 291 yards on 17 catches with three TD receptions.
Bulldogs quarterback Blake Shapen has a 67 percent completion rate for 884 yards. Shapen, in his second season at Mississippi State after three at Baylor, has thrown for seven TDs while getting intercepted twice and sacked six times.
