STARKVILLE, Miss. -- With more than a minute on the clock Wednesday night, Ben Bosse pulled up and let 'er rip.

Next trip down the floor, Tanner Wild eyed the rim and let 'er rip.

Ben Bosse and Tanner Wild, letting 'em rip in an SEC road game. Think about it.

If you know your Tennessee basketball roster, it suggests either a very hopeless scenario or a very good one.

If you know your Tennessee basketball history, it's more likely the former than the latter.

But the times, they are a changing.

"During the last part of the game,'' said junior Dane Bradshaw, "I told the guys on the bench, don't take this for granted because it's a been a while since we had this kind of situation.''

Here's the situation:

The Vols clobbered Mississippi State, 88-65, at Humphrey Coliseum, the program's fattest winning margin in an SEC road game in eight years.

They're 13-3, 4-1 SEC, and coming home for a three-game stand in suddenly energized Thompson-Boling Arena.

As athletic director Mike Hamilton reminded the team in the locker room after the game, the Vols have matched their SEC road-win total from last year.

Tennessee won two SEC road games last year. They had to fight tooth and nail to the wire in each.

Wednesday, the Vols took the fight out of a struggling Mississippi State team early. So much for any fears of a letdown from the huge win over Florida last Saturday.

"We lifted weights at 6:45 Monday (morning),'' said senior Andre Patterson, "by then I think we had got all of it (the Florida celebration) out. It was all about Mississippi State.''

Apparently.

UT hit seven of its first 10 shots, never trailed for a second and was up 15 at the half after executing a clinical clock-eating possession that ended with JaJuan Smith draining a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

"They've got a great rhythm on that basketball team right now,'' said an admiring Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury.

The 15-point margin almost instantly became 19 when the second half resumed.

"We kept making plays,'' said senior C.J. Watson. "We kept making shots.''

Even Ryan Childress. The big freshman's 3-pointer from the corner made it a 20-point game.

A word about this particular juncture is appropriate.

The margin was 16 with 15:22 to play as Watson joined fellow starters Chris Lofton and Patterson on the bench with three fouls.

If State was going to make a run, now was the time. Tennessee was vulnerable and there was plenty of clock left.

Instead, a makeshift lineup that included Childress and Jordan Howell expanded the lead to 21 (66-45) over the ensuing three minutes.

"That just shows you the confidence our guys have coming off the bench,'' said Bradshaw, "and also the confidence the staff has.''

And so the Bulldogs' rally never came. The crowd dispersed and end-of-the-bench practice players like Bosse and Wild get to tell the guys back at the dorm today they let 'er rip in an SEC road game.

It's not unprecedented. Tennessee walk-ons have played in SEC road games before.

But it always meant the Vols were down 20, not up 20.

The old hands like Watson and Bradshaw and Asumnu have been there and done that more times than they care to remember.

This was different, 180 degrees different.

Like Bradshaw said, don't take it for granted.