Opponent preview: Vanderbilt’s offense

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Take a look at the Southeastern Conference standings. At the bottom of the SEC East, you’ll see the 0-4 Vanderbilt Commodores. At the bottom of the SEC West, you’ll see the 1-4 Mississippi State Bulldogs. That’s the showdown on tap for Saturday when the Bulldogs host the Commodores inside Davis Wade Stadium at 2:30 p.m. CT for their 82nd homecoming football game.

The visiting Commodores will be bringing an offense that ranks 110th in scoring offense, 99th in total offense, 87th in passing offense and 97th in rushing offense.

Vanderbilt’s offense has scored an average of 11.3 points per game. It has produced 188.8 yards passing a game and 109 yards rushing per game for an average of 297.8 total yards per game.

Freshman quarterback Ken Seals has emerged as a bright spot for a Vanderbilt offense that has been outscored 153-47. He has completed 67% of his passes for 730 yards, five scores and five interceptions. He had a breakout game last week despite falling 54-21 to Ole Miss. He completed 31 of his 40 passes for 319 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Vanderbilt’s rushing attack is a three-man committee approach among junior running back Ja’Veon Marlow, sophomore running back Keyon Henry-Brooks and fifth-year senior Jamauri Wakefield. Marlow leads the team with 148 yards rushing, Henry-Brooks is second on the team with 138 yards rushing and a score, while Wakefield has produced 116 yards rushing. However, the rushing attack will be down a man because Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason said Marlow is suspended.

Junior wide receiver Cam Johnson leads the team with 23 receptions for 224 yards and a touchdown. Junior tight end Ben Bresnahan is No. 2 on the team and has hauled in 17 receptions for 169 yards receiving and two scores.

The game will be televised by SEC Network.