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After two games on the road, the Vanderbilt Commodores are heading back home. Vanderbilt and the Mississippi State Bulldogs will face off in an SEC battle at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday at Vanderbilt Stadium. The Commodores are out to stop a seven-game streak of losses at home.
Vanderbilt had victory within their grasp but couldn't quite capture it last week as the team lost 21-20 to the South Carolina Gamecocks. A silver lining for Vanderbilt was the play of WR Will Sheppard, who caught three passes for one TD and 120 yards. Sheppard hadn't helped his team much against the Florida Gators two weeks ago, so this was a nice turnaround for him.
Vanderbilt's defense was a force to be reckoned with, as it collected two interceptions and three fumbles. The picks came courtesy of LB Ethan Barr and S Dashaun Jerkins.
Meanwhile, MSU took a serious blow against the Alabama Crimson Tide last week, falling 49-9. The Bulldogs were down 35-9 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from. They couldn't find the end zone and got their points from three field goals.
Special teams was responsible for all of the team's points. K Brandon Ruiz delivered a perfect 3-for-3 game.
The Commodores are the clear underdogs, so they're hoping it's the size of the fight that determines this one. Those who got lucky with them against the spread last week might want to hold off on placing bets this time since the squad has yet to string together back-to-back wins against the spread.
The losses put Vanderbilt at 2-5 and the Bulldogs at 3-3. A pair of defensive numbers to keep in mind before kickoff: Vanderbilt is 241st worst in the nation in passing touchdowns allowed, with 17 on the season. MSUs have had an even harder time: they are stumbling into the matchup with the 227th most passing touchdowns allowed in the nation, having given up 14 on the season. It's possible one of these Achilles' heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.
