STARKVILLE, Miss. (WATE) — Tennessee's first SEC win of the season wasn't easy. The Vols survived a back-and-forth overtime thriller in Starkville, picking up a 41-34 victory against Mississippi State.

The Vols finished with 466 yards of total offense with 40 total tackles for a loss of 49 yards with five sacks. Joey Aguilar finished with 335 passing yards, while both Mike Matthews and Chris Brazzell eclipsed 100 plus receiving yards.

Tennessee's defense came out strong with a quick three-and-out, capped off with a Dominic Bailey sack on Mississippi State quarterback Blake Shapen.

However, the Bulldogs quickly were back out on offense after Braylon Staley muffed the punt and State recovered at the Tennessee 20-yard line.

The Bulldogs capitalized on the opportunity with a Fluff Bothwell five-yard touchdown run for the 7-0 lead.

Tennessee quickly made its way into Mississippi State territory on its first offensive drive of the game. Joey Aguilar connected with Braylon Staley on a 26-yard pass to set the Vols up on the 42-yard line. However, the Vols had to settle for a field goal, as Max Gilbert hit one through the uprights from 38 yards out to cut Mississippi State's lead to 7-3.

The Vols defense looked strong again on their second time out on the field with another three-and-out.

Tennessee's offense had a long way to go on their second drive, as a 67-yard punt set the Vols up at their own one-yard line. UT quickly moved past midfield on a 39-yard pass from Aguilar to Mike Matthews, but the Vols weren't able to convert and had to punt it back to the Bulldogs.

However, it was Tennessee who got on the board thanks to a pick-six from Colton Hood to give the Vols their first lead of the game, 10-7. It marked Hood's second interception of the season; the Colorado transfer had a scoop-and-score against Syracuse week one.

Mississippi State answered right back on a 15-play, 75-yard drive to take a 14-10 lead to start the second. Davon Booth and Fluff Bothwell got the work done on the ground, with Booth capping off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run.

The Vols weren't able to respond and instead Mississippi State used its strong rushing attack to march down the field and extend the lead to 17-10 on a 51-yard field goal from Kyle Ferrie.

Halfway through the second quarter, the Bulldogs were up to 95 yards rushing compared to just 36 from the Vols.

Tennessee tied the game at 17, taking advantage of two Mississippi State penalties. A roughing the passer and unsportsmanlike call gave the Vols two immediate first downs, and Joey Aguilar capped off the drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Chris Brazzell. It marked Brazzell's seventh score of the season.

Two sacks from Caleb Herring gave the Vols back the ball with just over two minutes left until halftime. However, Max Gilbert missed a 47-yard field-goal attempt, and so Mississippi State had a chance to take the lead into the break.

However, the Vols forced a three-and-out to keep the game tied at 17 a piece heading into halftime.

After one half of play, Tennessee had picked up 219 yards of total offense compared to Mississippi State's 193. However, the Bulldogs dominated the ground game in the first half with 122 rushing yards compared to just 38 for the Vols.

Tennessee racked up 181 yards in the air, while Mississippi State threw for 71 yards in the first 30 minutes of play.

The Vols started the second half on offense and took a three-point lead on a 27-yard field goal from Gilbert.

Mississippi State looked to tie things up on its own field goal try, but Kyle Ferrie missed on the 42-yard try.

However, the Bulldogs took the lead late in the third quarter. Tennessee was on offense, but a tipped pass from Aguilar to Miles Kitselman landed in the hands of Jahron Manning for the interception. Fluff Bothwell seized the opportunity with a rushing touchdown to give MSU a 24-20 lead.

Tennessee failed to score on its next drive, as a deep touchdown pass from Aguilar to Brazzell was called back due to a controversial pass interference call.

Things went from bad to worse as it appeared the Vols defense had gotten a stop, but the Bulldogs converted on a fake-punt to keep the drive going in the fourth. However, Tennessee took back the momentum on a huge defensive play from Tyre West and Josh Josephs.

West sacked Shapen and forced the ball to pop out, and then Josh Josephs picked up the ball and took it to the house on the 41-yard scoop and score to take a 27-24 lead.

The Bulldogs then marched down the field and converted on a 38-yard field goal to tie the game at 27.

Mississippi State took the lead, 34-27, on a touchdown pass from Shapen to Seydou Traore with eight minutes left on the clock. However, Joey Aguilar put together an impressive drive, capped off with his own 6-yard touchdown run to tie things up at 34.

Nothing was decided in the final two minutes of the game, so we headed to Tennessee's second straight overtime game in SEC play.

The Vols wasted no time, finding the endzone on their very first play from scrimmage, a 25-yard touchdown run from DeSean Bishop to take the 41-34 lead. The Tennessee defense did their job and stopped the Bulldogs offense from finding the endzone, sealing the win.

UP NEXT: Tennessee has its bye week before hosting Arkansas in two weeks.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/sports/tennessee-volunteers/tennessee-wins-overtime-thriller-against-mississippi-state/