As Sergeant Friday used to say, “Just the facts, Ma’am.”

* Tennessee 33, Mississippi State 14, coupled with what happened to others, raised the winners to No. 4 in the coaches’ poll, sixth in the AP poll.

Quarterback Gaston Moore #13 played the second half of Tennessee’s matchup with Mississippi State. (Ryan Beatty/ Tennessee Athletics)

Note to playoff planners: The Volunteers and Texas are the only 8-1 teams in the Southeastern Conference but change is coming. The correct shade of orange faces angry junkyard dogs. Georgia is favored by 10 points.

* Nico was or is injured. That he didn’t return to the sideline as a second-half motivational speaker was not a comforting clue. Josh Heupel said his absence was just a precautionary measure. Hmmm.

* Dylan Sampson is a gritty warrior, an NFL running back-to-be. He deserves at least an honorable mention in Heisman Trophy talk. Sampson carried a big load Saturday night, 30 runs, 149 yards. He is the second player in Tennessee history with eight 100-yard rushing games in a season. Jay Graham had 11 in 1995.

* The “elite” Volunteer defense is eroding. Someone must tell defensive coordinator Tim Banks that young linebackers are chasing decoys and leaving the middle wide open.

“We were out of gaps,” said Heupel.

The Vols actually gave up more yards per rush than they gained. Let us again mourn the injury loss of Keenan Pili.

Gaston Moore

* No. 2 quarterback Gaston Moore directed traffic with the poise of a supply chain manager (his degree). Everything was on time. There was no show of confusion, no false starts or Vols bumping into each other. OK, there were no big-bomb pass completions.

Gaston was close enough on a couple of shots to earn 30 yards in pass-interference penalties.

* Max Gilbert, off-target on five of six previous field-goal tries, hit four in a row, including one from 51 yards. With the offense bogging down, it was helpful that he regained his aim.
Heupel said: “Wasn’t that awesome for him!”
Timely for Tennessee, too.

* For the unofficial record, in the closing minute of the second quarter, Nico Iamaleava took a hard hit on his right arm and side and landed hard on his left. He played two more snaps in the Vol flurry before halftime.

Word tacticians later said he had an “upper body injury.”

***

Heupel said he’s going to count this game, even though I didn’t think it would win any beauty ribbons.

“Another SEC win, good win. Proud of the way the guys played for four quarters. Competed hard, played physical.”

For the first time since the Kent State game, Tennessee got a touchdown on its opening drive. On fourth-and-six from the 34, Nico launched a perfect throw to Squirrel White running open behind the Bulldogs’ defense.

Tennessee squandered the next two opportunities. Sampson got as close as the State 7 and fumbled. Boo Carter picked off a pass and returned it nine yards to the 9. Play-callers thought the Vols could muscle it in. Freshman Peyton Lewis gained three, three, two and not enough on fourth down, six or seven inches short even with the help of the heavyweight blockers.

Vols had a one-play drive in the second quarter – Nico to Dont’e Thornton for 73 and a touchdown. The Bulldogs answered and the Vols did not interrupt – 16 plays, 75 yards, 7:48 off the clock, TD through the middle from for 1.

Unbelievable: Tennessee got two field goals in the final minute before halftime. Gilbert hit one with 46 seconds remaining. The Bulldogs stopped the clock with two incompletions and a run out of bounds. Carter returned a punt 23 yards to the State 46.

Response 1: Nico to Squirrel for 21. Response 2: Gilbert’s kick was 38 yards for three more points.

The Moore-managed third quarter had more than enough excitement – the long field goal by Gilbert, an 18-yard State touchdown run up the middle that closed the score to 23-14 and a Sampson TD run, 33 yards, that established which team was going to win.

“Tennessee did an unbelievable job to continue to find ways to run the football in the second half,” said MSU coach Jeff Lebby. “We could not create momentum on offense. That was the killer.”

Bits and pieces:

Lance Heard, for a change, had the best grade among Tennessee offensive line regulars (63.4 on 84 snaps), according to Pro Football Focus. Jayson Jenkins scored in the 90s as a defensive lineman. He made one tackle but it caused a fumble. Isaac Smith was involved in 20 stops for Mississippi State.

For the ninth time, the Vols held a foe to less than 20 points. Mississippi State had 271 in total offense, Tennessee 452.

State QB Michael Van Buren, a freshman, probably learned a lot. He completed 10 of 26 for 92 yards.

Looking back, looking ahead … Victory over Florida was meaningful. Victory over Alabama was a big deal. It even included a scripted celebration. Triumph at Oklahoma was satisfying, especially for Heupel.

Trip to Georgia may prove to be the pivotal point of the season. A chance at the SEC championship is at stake. Playoff ranking hangs in the balance.

If Nico can play…if-if-if.

Caution: Georgia is vulnerable but Heupel teams have not played particularly well on the road.

Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com