After suffering its first loss of the season, Mississippi State gets a chance to rebound against SEC doormat Vanderbilt. The Commodores (3-7, 0-6) are the only winless team left in the SEC. Still, no SEC game is a pushover. Let’s take a look at the statistics behind the matchup.

THE GOOD

  • 5. Good news for the Bulldogs offense: Jameon Lewis is back. The senior receiver had 5 catches for 42 yards and a touchdown against Alabama. He’d had just a single catch since the LSU before that, having sat out three games and playing sparingly in two others. Lewis gives Dak Prescott another dangerous, versatile receiving option.
  • 61.5. Prescott should be able to get back into a groove against Vanderbilt, who allow a 61.5 percent completion rate on the season. Prescott is slightly over 60 percent on the season, but he’s been below that number in three of the Bulldogs’ last four SEC games.
  • 4.4. Vanderbilt hasn’t faced a team as potent on the ground as Mississippi State is, but they still give up 4.4 yards per carry. That should be a tonic for Prescott and Josh Robinson, both of whom struggled against Alabama.

THE BAD

  • -5. The Bulldogs have had a -5 turnover margin over the last two SEC games, a 1-1 stretch that’s seen them soundly beaten by Alabama despite the close final score and a narrow victory over Arkansas. Vanderbilt hasn’t had a positive turnover margin in any game this season, so State could be in okay shape.
  • 5.7. Despite having the 11th-ranked run defense in the SEC, the Commodores are averaging 5.7 tackles for loss per game in SEC play, led by standout linebackers Stephen Weatherly and Caleb Azubike. State had eight runs of zero or negative yards last week against Alabama.