All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee football in top half of SEC Power Rankings for Week 1 of 2022

By Caleb Calhoun

Volunteers gather and sing the alma mater after the Tennessee vs Ball State football game in Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tenn. on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022.Utvsballstate 2461
Volunteers gather and sing the alma mater after the Tennessee vs Ball State football game in Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tenn. on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022.Utvsballstate 2461 /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
10 of 14
Next
Sep 3, 2022; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Will Rogers (2) passes against the Memphis Tigers during the first quarter at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 3, 2022; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Will Rogers (2) passes against the Memphis Tigers during the first quarter at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports /

893. . 1-0. . Bulldogs . 5. team

Defeated Memphis Tigers 49-23

Revenge was delayed due to bad weather. However, the Mississippi State Bulldogs weren’t going to let that derail them in their quest to get revenge on the Memphis Tigers after the way they lost last year. Mike Leach had all offseason to prepare, and his team came out with a bang, absolutely dominating Ryan Silverfield’s team all night long.

We know about Leach’s track record on offense, and if anybody can compete with Tennessee football this year on that side of the ball, MSU will be that team. It didn’t take long for MSU to get going either, as they scored a touchdown on their first drive and roared out to a 28-3 halftime advantage. That increased to 35-3 in the third quarter.

This game was vintage Leach, as Will Rogers threw for 450 yards and five touchdowns, but what really stood out was this team’s defense. After all, Memphis was held to just 294 yards of total offense and had the ball for just 18 minutes. They didn’t score a touchdown until the game was well in hand.

We don’t now how legitimate this was, as there are questions about how good Memphis was, but that performance was enough to put MSU up here in our SEC Power Rankings. A trip to the Arizona Wildcats is another chance for them to prove themselves before they begin SEC play at the LSU Tigers, so this is a tough two weeks.

Home/Vols Football