No. 8 Tennessee rolls into town Saturday morning taking on No. 25 LSU in Death Valley, and get the coffee ready because it’s an 11 a.m. kickoff.
The Tigers (4-1, 2-0 SEC) have reached this point still unbeaten in the SEC, and that means everything is still on the table this season. But that is likely to change against the Volunteers (4-0, 1-0 SEC) at Tiger stadium.
LSU enters as 3-point underdogs against a surging Vols team. My concern is simple: Tennessee wants to turn this game into a track meet and force LSU to throw to keep pace. Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels has been up-and-down as a passer this season. He’s been as risk-averse a passer that you’ll find.
But for the purple and gold offense to push the ball down, generate big plays and big numbers on the scoreboard, the QB has to find the open receivers and get the ball to them without hesitation.
Tennessee comes into this matchup with a "dude" at that position in Hendon Hooker. This young man will be playing on Sundays in the near future.
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The LSU secondary has played a lot better than many of us thought were
Capable. But Hooker will provide the first real test.
Look for Daniels and Co. to take the air out of the football a bit by establishing a running game. If they can keep the ball away from Hooker and the Vols, the plan could work.
The gang from Rocky Top can’t score if they don’t have the ball. But if the Bayou
Bengals are betting on their defense to win this game – those are some long odds.
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My prediction: Tennessee is just too much for an LSU program still trying to repair and rebuild the roster in Brian Kelly’s first season at the helm. The Tigers don't have the firepower on
offense to keep up. Tennessee 24, LSU 13.
In the end I just don't trust the Tigers offense enough to be optimistic.