It appears as though Tennessee will be without two key players against Mississippi State on Saturday night in Knoxville.
One is ruled out while the other is currently listed as doubtful for the game.
Tennessee second-string running back DeSean Bishop suffered an injury in the first half of last weekend’s Kentucky game and did not return to action in the contest. With Bishop’s key role as Dylan Sampson’s backup and a favorable offensive matchup against Mississippi State this weekend, it wasn’t a surprise to see Bishop listed as “out” in the first injury report on Wednesday night.
Bishop’s status did not change in the Thursday night injury report. We’ll see if there are any changes on Friday night and Saturday evening, but it doesn’t appear to be likely. Tennessee can also afford to keep Bishop on the sideline this week as he rests up for next weekend’s critical SEC matchup against Georgia.
With Bishop out for Saturday, expect to see a healthy dose of freshman running back Peyton Lewis as Sampson’s backup. Lewis saw action in Tennessee’s first three games but didn’t return to the field until stepping up against Kentucky in the wake of Bishop’s injury. The Tennessee freshman racked up 24 yards and a touchdown on eight carries against the Wildcats.
Bishop currently has 372 yards and three touchdowns on 54 carries this season.
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While he doesn’t officially have an “out” status, Tennessee defensive lineman Tyre West doesn’t look likely to go on Saturday against Mississippi State.
West was listed on the Wednesday injury report as questionable but was downgraded to doubtful on Thursday night. We’ll have to wait and see if there are any updates in the Friday night injury report, but the downgrade from Wednesday to Thursday indicates that he might be out on Saturday.
The junior from Tifton, GA, has been a key rotational piece for Tennessee’s daunting front line. West played the backup role to Dominic Bailey in Tennessee’s first five games but has been the Vols’ starting defensive end for the last three contests against Florida, Alabama, and Kentucky – all Tennessee wins.
West has two sacks, six tackles, and one forced fumble on the season so far.
Through Tennessee’s first seven games, West held the Vols’ third-highest defensive rating from Pro Football Focus at 83.7 in 121 plays. West’s rating only trailed LEO Joshua Josephs (90.2 in 192 plays) and cornerback Jermod McCoy (84.5 in 364 plays).
While Tennessee would obviously love to have a healthy DeSean Bishop for this game, it’s a game where Tennessee doesn’t necessarily need DeSean Bishop. Mississippi State has a horrible defense and Tennessee should be able to rely on Sampson and Lewis to get the job done in Bishop’s absence. It’ll be great when Tennessee does have their main backup back, though.
The Tyre West downgrade is more startling. Not only is West a productive player on Tennessee’s defensive line and a starter from the past three games, Mississippi State’s offense is in a different league than its defense. The Bulldogs have a capable offense that will push Tennessee’s defense and not having West locking down the defensive end position could hurt. Fortunately for the Vols, though, Rodney Garner’s group is as deep as it is good.
Neither injury is enough to project Mississippi State in the upset – especially considering the Bulldogs’ own injuries – but it is certainly something to watch for.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider on Friday night to see if there are any updates to Bishop or West’s status heading into the game on Saturday night in Neyland Stadium.
