A Mississippi State Bulldogs player made a puzzling comment on Saturday night after his team’s 33-14 loss to the Tennessee Vols. 

Mississippi State defensive back Isaac Smith had a great game against the Vols, totaling 20 tackles in a losing effort. 

After the game, Smith talked about how much joy he takes in quieting an opposing crowd. 

“I feed off the crowd and I love to see a home crowd just quiet,” said Smith after the loss to Tennessee. “Especially when a lot of people assume they’re just going to run all over us and throw all over us. It feels good to just quiet down a crowd for a little bit.” 

Tennessee scored 33 points against the Bulldogs thanks in large part to starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava not playing in the second half due to injury. The Vols put up 452 yards of total offense, including 240 rushing yards. 

The Vols were well on their way to scoring over 40 points against Mississippi State before Iamaleava’s injury. And Neyland was loud throughout the game (maybe Smith doesn’t know that the crowd at Neyland is quieter when the Vols have the ball…so the offense can operate efficiently). 

Smith played a great game against Tennessee, but by the end of the night, the only thing that was “quiet” was the sound of disappointed Mississippi State fans leaving Neyland Stadium