Previewing the Vanderbilt Commodores

Mississippi State needs a bounce-back dominating win.

I’m not sure that this game is going to tell us a whole lot about the future of our Bulldog team, but a dominating win tells us more than a close win.

Vanderbilt’s QB, Ken Seals, is out due to a finger injury.

Sophomore QB, Mike Wright will make his second career start today vs. the Bulldogs. Last week vs. South Carolina, Wright threw for 206 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. Not a bad performance for his first start.

The Bulldogs’ Defense must get to Wright early.

I don’t think the Bulldogs are going to blitz as much as they did against Alabama, but I do think MSU’s defensive line can get to Wright multiple times today. I believe this is key for the Bulldogs making this game one-sided today.

Mississippi State has to prevent turnovers.

After listening to Sports Talk Mississippi’s Thunder & Lightning all week, they have determined that every game MSU has turned the ball over on the first possession of the game has resulted in a loss. The Bulldogs must take care of the football today to prevent this game from becoming close.

Keys to victory (Vanderbilt):

• Find ways to keep the game close in the fourth quarter
• Find holes in the MSU defense
• Put Kumar Rocker at Tight End

Keys to victory (Mississippi State):

• Don’t turn the ball over on the first offensive possession
• Find a way to run the ball in the RedZone
• Get to Mike Wright without blitzing