Week 11 has ended during the 2024 college football season. Three weeks remain in regular-season play. No. 6 Tennessee (8-1, 5-1 SEC) defeated Mississippi State (2-8, 0-6 SEC), 33-14, on Saturday at Neyland Stadium.
Rankings reflect the US LBM Coaches Poll.
“Another SEC win, a good win, proud of the way the guys played for four quarters,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said of the Vols’ win against Mississippi State. “Played hard, played physical.”
Tennessee is ranked No. 1 in SEC power rankings after Week 11. The Vols and Georgia are ranked as the top two teams and will face each other in Week 12. The SEC contest between the Vols and Bulldogs is slated for 7:30 p.m. EST and will be televised by ABC on Saturday.
READ: 2024 SEC football power rankings after Week 11
Following Week 11, Vols Wire provides five takeaways from Tennessee’s win against Mississippi State and are listed below.
Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire
Tennessee totaled 240 rushing yards against the Bulldogs. Running back Dylan Sampson recorded 149 rushing yards and scored one touchdown on 30 attempts. The Vols have totaled 2,116 rushing yards this season. Tennessee has produced 2,000 rushing yards as a team in all four seasons under Heupel, the longest run of 2,000-rushing yard seasons for the program since 1989-94.
Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire
In addition to Sampson’s 100-yard rushing performance, wide receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr. recorded three receptions for 104 yards and one touchdown. Saturday marked the eighth time during the Heupel era that Tennessee produced a 100-yard rusher and 100-yard receiver in the same game. The Vols are 7-1 since 2021 when having a 100-yard rusher and a 100-yard receiver in the same contest.
Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire
Tennessee’s defense has not allowed 20 points in a game this season. Kentucky scored the most points against the Vols in 2024, totaling 18 points in Week 10. Tennessee has held its opponents under 20 points in 10 straight games, dating to the 2024 Citrus Bowl versus Iowa. Tennessee’s start to the 2024 season, holding opponents under 20 points, is the first time the Vols have accomplished the feat in its first nine games of a season since doing so in all 11 games of the 1966 season.
Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire
Tennessee’s offense totaled 452 yards (212 passing, 240 rushing) against Mississippi State. The Vols have recorded 300-plus offensive yards in 46-of-48 games under Heupel since his first season as head coach in 2021.
Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire
Sampson became the fifth Tennessee player ever to record five consecutive 100-yard games in a single season. The 5-foot-11, 201-pound running back joins Jay Graham (nine in 1995), Johnnie Jones (six in 1984), Arian Foster (five in 2005) and Chuck Webb (five in 1989).
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