Tennessee went on the road and emptied Tiger Stadium with a dominant, 40-13, win over No. 25 LSU.
The win moved No. 8 Tennessee to 5-0 (2-0 SEC) on the season and marked the Vols’ third ranked win of the young season.
Tennessee took control of the game from the first play and cruised to a blowout victory.
Here are five critical moments that led to the win.
Play Number One
LSU won the coin toss and elected to receive. Brian Kelly wanted the ball and a chance to jump out to a lead before Hendon Hooker and the dynamic Tennessee offense took the field.
Things didn’t go as planned.
Tennessee kicked short and to the sideline, Jack Bech muffed the kick and Will Albright quickly jumped on it. First-and-10 Tennessee.
Five plays later, Jabari Small punched it into the end zone from a yard out. Even after electing to receive the opening kick, LSU trailed, 7-0, before its offense touched the field.
The opening play accurately set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.
Fourth Down Stop And A Kill Shot
LSU faced third-and-one at its own 46-yard line when the second quarter began. The Tigers got aggressive, and maybe even cocky, on third-and-short. The Tigers drew up a max protection deep shot but Tennessee defended it well, forcing Jayden Daniels to fire out of bounds.
From LSU’s point of view, no big deal. The Tigers knew they were going to go for it on fourth-and-short. Not so fast my friend.
Aaron Beasley and a host of Volunteers blew up the run and stopped Josh Williams two yards short of the line of scrimmage.
One play later, Tennessee drew up a deep shot of its own. Jalin Hyatt got behind the LSU defense and Hendon Hooker hit him right in stride to give the Vols a 20-0 lead.
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Vols Steal Three Before Halftime
LSU grabbed momentum for the first time as Chase McGrath’s 50-yard field goal doinked off the uprights with 57 seconds left in the first half.
The Tigers had scored a touchdown the drive before to cut Tennessee’s lead to 20-7 and had a chance to get more before halftime.
Jayden Daniels found Jaray Jenkins for 22 yards on the first play of the drive before throwing three straight incompletions. Once again, Brian Kelly decided to be aggressive.
Once again it backfired. Tennessee brought the house and got home, sacking Daniels for an eight-yard loss on fourth down.
Hooker found Bru McCoy to get Tennessee in field goal range and McGrath hit from 32 yards to reclaim the momentum for the Vols.
A One Yard Squirrel White Reception
Hendon Hooker found Squirrel White for one yard.
Doesn’t sound like a very big play, does it? Think again.
Facing third-and-one at its own 48-yard line on the opening drive of the second half, Hooker was slightly inaccurate on a short pass to the freshman receiver. White made an impressive one handed catch to move the sticks and keep the game alive.
Four plays later, Hooker found Hyatt for the duo’s second touchdown connection on the afternoon.
Coming out of halftime, Tennessee stepped on LSU’s throat and extended its lead to 23 points. It might not have happened without the one-yard completion.
Masterful Game Sealing Drive
It was going to take an improbable comeback for LSU to win when it scored a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to cut Tennessee’s lead to 24.
Still, the memories of Florida’s nearly miraculous comeback two weeks ago lingered. Tennessee’s offense put that to bed with a masterful drive.
The Vols’ physicality and success in the trenches showed up on their ensuing drive. Tennessee ran the ball 11 times on a 13 play, 81 yard field goal drive that took 8:47 off the clock.
Tennessee extended its lead to four possessions and ran the majority of the time off the clock as it sealed the blowout win.
