Defense sparks Tennessee past Mississippi State

KNOXVILLE — The scoreboard read, “Tennessee 34, Mississippi State 3.”

Statistics said, “Tennessee offense 20, Tennessee defense 14, Mississippi State 3.”

Defense kept the struggling Volunteers in the lead early Saturday night, and their highly touted safeties bulldozed the Bulldogs into submission early in the fourth quarter of the Southeastern Conference game at Neyland Stadium.

Sophomore Eric Berry and junior Demetrice Morley returned interceptions that gave the Vols two touchdowns in a 97-second, 105-yard bonanza.

Berry’s 72-yard score probably put away the unexplosive Bulldogs, but Morley’s 32-yarder removed all doubt with 9 minutes, 10 seconds left.

“Not dead yet,” UT coach Phillip Fulmer said with a smile of relief. “We’re not dead yet.”

UT’s offense added a late touchdown, but the final score simply added shine to another occasionally promising but mostly prodding performance.

The Vols finished with just 275 yards of total offense, but they limited the Bulldogs to 189.

Defense pushed UT over the 20-point barrier for the first time since a Sept. 13 win over UAB, but the offense didn’t seem to mind.

The Vols (3-4, 1-3) got their first league win in four tries, while the Bulldogs (2-5, 1-3) slid further down the Western Division standings.

“When men are put in these situations, they can fall off the map or they can set their jaw and go back to work,” UT sophomore quarterback Nick Stephens said. “And that’s what we did.

“We knew we had to have this ... and we went out and got it.”

Special teams sparked the Vols early in the second half, and Stephens set up the game’s first touchdown.

Dennis Rogan — UT’s only starting defensive back who didn’t intercept MSU quarterback Tyson Lee — returned the third-quarter opening kickoff 42 yards to the Bulldogs’ 47. The Vols then converted two third downs and one fourth down on a five-minute touchdown march.

Junior tailback Montario Hardesty plunged over the goal line for a 1-yard score to give UT a 13-3 lead.

“Before the game, Coach (Dave) Clawson challenged the O-line to basically go out there and have a good game, and I think they made up their minds that they were going to go out there and do better,” said Vols sophomore tailback Lennon Creer, whose 1-yard touchdown run capped the scoring with 2:39 left in the game.

The Vols appeared to score one play before Hardesty’s run. Stephens fired a 21-yard pass to Austin Rogers on third-and-9, but officials ruled Rogers down short of the goal line after an instant-replay review.

UT also converted third-and-7 and fourth-and-2 passes on that possession, as Stephens found Hardesty on a 12-yard screen play and senior wide receiver Lucas Taylor on a 9-yard slant.

Stephens, thanks largely to a 45-yard strike to emerging sophomore Denarius Moore, finished with 136 yards on 10-of-20 passing.

“When our defense is playing this great, and we’re running the ball like this, my job is to make plays where I’m supposed to and not turn the ball over,” said Stephens, who hasn’t thrown an interception this season. “This wasn’t a game where I needed to go out and fit the ball in tight spaces. I just needed to go out and play smart and let the running game and defense take care of their jobs.”

UT settled for field goals on its first two red-zone trips, but both kicks unlocked a tie game.

Sophomore Daniel Lincoln connected from 36 yards to give the Vols a 3-0 lead with 11:17 left in the second quarter, and his 28-yard kick made it 6-3 with 1:09 left in the half.

Adam Carlson connected from 43 yards between Lincoln’s kicks, giving the Bulldogs their only points.

“Just being that little spark plug to start up some energy on the team or whatever, I like being that guy,” Berry said. “But the energy started in the locker room (at halftime). Coaches were amped up, even though the score was pretty close.

“They were pretty amped up and excited about the second half, and we were ready to go out there and have some fun and get the win.”

UT’s two interception returns might ultimately be overshadowed by two offensive injuries from Saturday’s first half.

Senior guard Anthony Parker and sophomore Gerald Jones — the team’s leading receiver — didn’t return after hobbling off the field with apparent high ankle sprains in the first half.

Fulmer said he would have more information about the two players today. If both are high ankle sprains, they likely won’t play in this Saturday’s home game against second-ranked Alabama (7-0, 4-0).

The Vols held Mississippi State in check by slowing big tailback Anthony Dixon to 46 yards on 15 carries.

Dixon is a challenge, but Alabama’s a bigger one. The Crimson Tide have one of the nation’s most potent rushing attacks.

“It’s almost indescribable, the difference in winning and losing,” Fulmer said. “Obviously, there’s still much to be done, but this is something I think we can build on.

“You could feel the confidence of the football team and the energy from the team, and the stadium during the course of the second half. We finally started making plays. We have sometimes been our own worst enemies, and we had no turnovers tonight, and one penalty for the evening. If nothing else, that’s great progress.”

Former McCallie School quarterback B.J. Coleman went under center on UT’s final possession. He handed off twice to run out the clock.