The LSU Tigers faced their stiffest competition yet, and it proved far too big a challenge for Brian Kelly’s squad. The Volunteers crushed LSU 40-13.
It was a day LSU needed everything to go right, and from the first play to the last play the Tigers made mistake after mistake. In the end it was too much to overcome.
Tennessee’s offense combined for over 500 yards and Heisman hopeful Hendon Hooker showed off his dual-threat ability all day.
It didn’t help offensively that their starting LT Will Campbell was ruled out before the game due to a medical issue that struck him during walk throughs prior to the game. Starting guard Garrett Dellinger, who was playing with a cast on his hand, also left mid-game with a knee injury. That missing combo played a key role in the five sacks LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels took on the day.
With all that in mind, here’s the good, mostly bad and very ugly loss to Tennessee.
THE GOOD: LSU Depth Receivers
There weren’t many positives from this one, but Daniels did find a connection with several of his pass-catchers. It looked like the coaching staff wanted to get Kayshon Boutte involved early and often, and he did have three catches in the first quarter. Unfortunately he didn’t get the ball in his hands until he secured a touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter, his first of the season, but that was with the game already well out of reach.
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I think his involvement in the pass game built confidence in receivers like Malik Nabers and Jaray Jenkins. Daniels seemed to be able to find his secondary receivers and both broke off 20-plus-yard catch and runs.
It’ll be interesting to see where the targets go going forward. Boutte is easily LSU’s most talented receiver but he’s yet to get untracked in a less-than-imposing passing game.
THE BAD: Offensive Line
LSU does have a built-in excuse for the poor protection of Jayden Daniels in this one, as noted above, with the absence of Campbell and Dellinger. That said, the lack of a rushing attack was also very easy to see. The Volunteers didn’t come in with much of a pass rush, but Daniels felt heavy pressure in key moments, leading to penalties and several 4th down failures.
The Tigers’ trio of running backs – Josh Williams, John Emery Jr. and Noah Cain – rushed for only 17 yards. This is coming off a game against Auburn in which all three running backs averaged over 4 yards per carry.
Hopefully, Dellinger’s injury isn’t too serious because the offensive line shuffle seems to be an ongoing process, and a process that hasn’t gone particularly well to this point.
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MORE BAD: The Defense
Hooker is on pace to earn himself a spot in New York for the Heisman Trophy presentation. He wasn’t spectacular, but he showed off his arm against the LSU secondary on multiple deep passes.
Tennessee’s offense got up early off an LSU turnover and the defense never really managed to slow down the Volunteers in this one.
Tennessee running back Jabari Small rushed for over 100 yards and scored twice. Altogether the Tennessee offense rolled up more than 263 yards on the ground, and that kept the Tigers defense on the field.
THE UGLY: Coaching
You can probably ask Brian Kelly about this one, but the coaching decisions in this game were not good. The Tigers went for it twice in the first half on 4th down and failed to come away with points. The lack of focus showed as turnovers and penalties were LSU’s downfall – mostly – in this one.
LSU opened up the game with a fumble on the kick return and ended it with an interception in the end zone. Tigers fans will likely be calling out Coach Kelly, but remember this is Year 1 of the rebuilding process. Games like this will happen before this season rises back to contender status. Just look at where Tennessee was last year compared to now.
The Tigers now head back on the road to face another SEC East opponent in the Florida Gators. Even with the struggles in Baton Rouge the past two seasons LSU was still able to get the better of the swamp gang. It’s former UL-Lafayette head coach Billy Napier holding the reins this time, though, which adds an extra bit of more Louisiana spice to this rivalry.