STARKVILLE, Miss. - A game like this once would have evoked the question, "What's wrong with Tennessee football?" But now it tells you what's right with a team that started out so wrong.

The Vols were neither dazzling nor dominant in a 33-21 victory over Mississippi State on Saturday at Scott Field. Instead, their performance was steady and clutch.

Compared to their first two road trips of the 2007 season, that qualifies as a resounding success.

Never mind that the Vols won their last match-up against the Bulldogs by a 59-17 count in 2003. Or that they vanquished the Georgia Bulldogs with such ease a week earlier.

For a team that started out 1-2, back-to-back SEC wins warrant applause and inspire hope. The nature of the victories was as encouraging as well.

Suddenly, UT has discovered its long-lost running game. It ran the ball against Georgia. It ran the ball even better against Mississippi State.

The final score might not have been as convincing, but the relentless running in the second half - when the Vols gained 143 of their 211 rushing yards - was reminiscent of coach Phillip Fulmer's best days on the sideline.

Here was the former offensive lineman and line coach controlling the game with hard-nosed football. Sure, it helped that quarterback Erik Ainge, who passed for 259 yards and two touchdowns, was a constant source of concern for the Mississippi State defense. But even when the Bulldogs were committed to stopping the run, they couldn't.

No one understood that better than Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom, another former offensive lineman whose game plan was brutally simple - hand the ball to 240-pound tailback Anthony Dixon and control the game with his offensive line.

That often worked for the Bulldogs. But it worked more often for the Vols.

"That big offensive line just laid heavy on us," Croom said. "They wore us down.

"And they have that good big running back in Arian Foster. That is why you play big running backs like him, because they are so big - after tackling them for so long, it begins to wear a defense down."

Of course, no matter how such victories are achieved, they come with the disclaimer: "It's only Mississippi State."

But this Mississippi State team was good enough to upset Auburn and win four of its first six games. And UT got its best shot.

"We probably played as well as we can play," Croom said. "It is the best full game we have played since I have been here, when you consider we played against a quality SEC opponent."

In fact, these Bulldogs were superior to the Bulldogs UT faced the previous Saturday in Neyland Stadium. Mississippi State played with more passion and confidence than Georgia, whose defensive and offensive lines offered little resistance against the Vols.

UT's defense wasn't as good as its offense Saturday. Mississippi State freshman quarterback Wesley Carroll had a career day passing - 18-for-33, 203 yards and two touchdowns. Such production from the SEC's worst passing offense underscores UT's greatest weakness as it heads into the second half of the season.

The Vols can't mount an effective pass rush and have too many coverage glitches in a young secondary. However, when they can control the ball as they did against the Bulldogs, those shortcomings aren't as glaring.

After a hard-fought victory over a program that hasn't had a winning season since 2000, the harshest critics still might wonder: "What's wrong with Tennessee football?"

Answer: Not nearly as much as there was a month ago.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284.

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.