Vanderbilt Commodores at Mississippi State Bulldogs
Fri Nov 6 · 11:00 PM CT
By Pablo SanchezUpdated 5d ago·2 min read
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Vanderbilt walks into Starkville off the best season in program history. Mississippi State just wants to prove last year's collapse was a blip and not a preview.
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Best BetVanderbilt
Vanderbilt enters with the better roster top to bottom and a defense that's been elite for two straight years — that's the safer thing to lean on than betting a first-time starter finds instant chemistry on the road. Mississippi State's talent gap closed some in the portal, but not enough to flip this outright.
Vanderbilt
+Program-record 10-3 finish, 6-2 in the SEC
+Clark Lea named SEC Coach of the Year again
−Losing Heisman-finalist QB Diego Pavia
−Also lost starting tight end Eli Stowers
Mississippi State
+Kamario Taylor flashed dual-threat upside in Egg Bowl debut
+Portal add Marquis Johnson brings a 1,000-yard résumé
−Finished 5-8 and just 1-7 in SEC play in 2025
−Collapsed from a 4-0 start to close 1-7
This is a program-trajectory game before it's anything else. Vanderbilt spent 2025 rewriting its own record book behind Diego Pavia, and now heads into the fall trying to replace him. Jared Curtis is the name to know in Nashville — a big-armed, 6-3 prospect who represents a completely different style than the scrappy, dual-threat Pavia. Mississippi State's answer at quarterback is Kamario Taylor, a sophomore who flashed real juice late last season and now gets to run the show as Jeff Lebby's guy from Week 1.
Vanderbilt isn't just replacing a quarterback — it's replacing its top tight end too, with Eli Stowers also off to the NFL. The cushion is a receiver room that didn't lose much: Junior Sherrill and Brycen Coleman are both back outside, and the portal brought in Cole Adams from Alabama and Ja'Cory Thomas from Old Dominion to keep the skill-position talent stacked even as the passer changes. Mississippi State made its own portal push, landing Missouri wideout Marquis Johnson, a three-year contributor with over 1,000 receiving yards in Columbia, to give Taylor a proven target.
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VAN Vanderbilt
MSST Mississippi State
The bigger question for Mississippi State is whether last year's finish was a fluke or a pattern. The Bulldogs opened 4-0, including a win over a ranked Arizona State team, then went 1-7 the rest of the way. Taylor's Egg Bowl performance — 173 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns in his first real look as the starter — is the reason there's optimism heading into year 3 under Lebby, even if the overall body of work says this program still has a lot to prove.
Vanderbilt Commodores
Oct 16?vs Arkansas—
Oct 9?vs Ole Miss—
Oct 2?@ Georgia—
Sep 25?@ Auburn—
Sep 19?vs NC State—
Sep 12?vs Delaware—
Sep 5?vs Austin Peay—
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Oct 30?@ Texas—
Oct 16?@ LSU—
Oct 2?vs Alabama—
Sep 25?vs Missouri—
Sep 19?@ South Carolina—
Sep 12?@ Minnesota—
Sep 5?vs UL Monroe—
Recent form.
Vanderbilt's floor is simply higher right now. Clark Lea just won SEC Coach of the Year for a second straight season, and a defense that helped beat four ranked teams in 2025 isn't going anywhere. The offense is the variable — nobody replaces a Heisman finalist without some drop-off — but the infrastructure around Curtis, from the offensive line to the receiver room, is built for a soft landing rather than a full rebuild.
Vanderbilt Commodores
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Mississippi State Bulldogs
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Mississippi State's margin for error is thinner. Losing backup Luke Kromenhoek to the portal means Taylor has to stay upright behind an offensive line that struggled for stretches last season, and there's no long track record yet to know how he handles a full slate of SEC starts instead of one high-note cameo. This one's circle-the-calendar for Bulldogs fans hoping for proof of concept, and a measuring-stick road trip for a Vanderbilt team trying to show 2025 wasn't a one-year mirage.
