# SEC Football: Vanderbilt Commodores Defeats Mississippi State Bulldogs 25-23

**Published:** 2026-11-07 — **By:** Stacy Stanfield
**Category:** games — **Type:** game-recap
**Source:** https://secscouts.com/news/sec-football-vanderbilt-commodores-defeats-mississippi-state-bulldogs-25-23

**Teams:** [Miss State](https://secscouts.com/mississippi-state/), [Vanderbilt](https://secscouts.com/vanderbilt/)


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STARKVILLE, Miss. (11/05/2026) — The Vanderbilt Commodores delivered a methodical road victory at Davis Wade Stadium on Thursday, controlling the tempo from opening drive to final whistle and edging the Mississippi State Bulldogs 25-23 in a tightly contested SEC showdown.

## Result

Vanderbilt picked up a hard-fought road win in SEC play, leaning on a dominant time of possession advantage and a 19-point performance from Brock Taylor to hold off Mississippi State's aerial attack. The two-point margin belied how thoroughly the Commodores controlled the game's pace, leaving the Bulldogs with too few possessions to mount a decisive response.

## How It Happened

Vanderbilt's blueprint was straightforward — keep the ball, force Mississippi State to watch from the sideline. The Commodores held possession for an extraordinary 39:55, compared to Mississippi State's 20:05, a nearly 2-to-1 advantage that became the defining statistic of the evening.

Tyler Ebel drove the Vanderbilt offense with 248 yards, anchoring an attack that totaled 328 yards on a balanced 17-of-27 passing effort (168 yards through the air) paired with 160 yards on the ground. That equilibrium kept Mississippi State's defense off-balance and, more importantly, kept the Bulldogs' offense waiting. Sedrick Alexander punched in a rushing touchdown, while Brock Taylor handled the balance of the scoring with an impressive 19-point performance that supplied the winning margin.

Mississippi State leaned heavily on the passing game, with Ethan Pulliam producing 333 yards to give the Bulldogs a viable weapon on nearly every series. AJ Swann connected for two touchdowns and completed 23-of-36 passes for 254 yards, keeping the scoreboard within reach. But the Bulldogs' ground attack managed just 43 rushing yards — a figure that capped their offense at one dimension and fed directly into Vanderbilt's time of possession dominance. Mississippi State's 12 first downs compared to Vanderbilt's 20 illustrated just how difficult it was for the Bulldogs to sustain drives.

Defensively, Yilanan Ouattara was a constant disruption for Vanderbilt, recording two sacks to rattle Mississippi State's pass protection at critical moments. Tyshun Willis added a sack for the Bulldogs' defense.

## Turning Point

Vanderbilt's ability to convert and extend drives proved to be the game's decisive element. With 20 first downs to Mississippi State's 12, the Commodores repeatedly answered Bulldogs scores with extended possessions that drained the clock and limited Mississippi State's opportunities to respond. The Bulldogs converted 5-of-their third-down opportunities to Vanderbilt's 4, but the Commodores' stranglehold on possession made every Mississippi State series feel urgent — a pressure the Bulldogs couldn't fully overcome in the final margin.

## Star of the Game

Brock Taylor was the most impactful player on the field Thursday. His 19-point contribution accounted for the majority of Vanderbilt's 25-point output and represented the entire margin of victory in a game where every point mattered. In a road win decided by two points, Taylor's performance was the difference between a Vanderbilt victory and a Bulldogs comeback. Tyler Ebel's 248 yards added the production that sustained the drives, but Taylor delivered the points that closed it out.

## What It Means

For the Vanderbilt Commodores, this result carries significant weight. A road win in SEC play — especially one built on ball control and efficient execution — signals a team confident in its identity and capable of grinding out victories in difficult environments. The Commodores demonstrated the ability to neutralize a capable passing offense through possession and not just scheme, a formula that travels well through the remainder of the SEC schedule.

For Mississippi State, the two-point home loss is a difficult result to absorb despite genuine offensive production. Ethan Pulliam's 333 yards and AJ Swann's two touchdowns showed that the Bulldogs' passing attack can generate real damage against SEC competition. The challenge going forward will be establishing a more functional ground game — 43 rushing yards is not a sustainable foundation — and finding ways to stay on the field long enough to match the kind of possession-oriented opponents Vanderbilt embodied Thursday night.

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*Original article: [SEC Football: Vanderbilt Commodores Defeats Mississippi State Bulldogs 25-23](https://secscouts.com/news/sec-football-vanderbilt-commodores-defeats-mississippi-state-bulldogs-25-23) — SEC Scouts*