Following a massive win over Florida and a bye-week, Tennessee took to the road to face LSU at Death Valley.
With the extra rest, the No. 8 Vols (5-0, 2-0 SEC) blew out the No. 25 Tigers (4-2, 2-1) 40-13 in Baton Rouge.
Let's dive into the intricacies of the matchup.
Scoring
1Q:
Vols TD - Small one-yard run (7-0)
Vols FG - McGrath 35-yard kick (10-0)
Vols FG - McGrath 38-yard kick (13-0)
2Q:
Vols TD - Hyatt 45-yard reception from Hooker (20-0)
LSU TD - Williams one-yard run (20-7)
Vols FG - McGrath 32-yard kick (23-7)
3Q:
Vols TD - Hyatt 14-yard reception from Hooker (30-7)
Vols TD - Small five-yard run (37-7)
4Q:
LSU TD - Boutte five-yard reception from Daniels (two-point attempt failed) (37-13)
Vols FG - McGrath 32-yard kick (40-13)
MVPs
Offensive: Jabari Small
With Tennessee taking an early and sizable lead, the team opted to run the ball 49 times compared to throwing just 28 passes.
Leading the way in the heavy ground attack was Jabari Small. The back received 22 carries in the match — 10 more than the next most used rusher. He totaled 127 yards in this effort including a long of 49.
This hard running pushed him across the goal line twice in the game. The first came as the opening score of the match with his final extending the team's lead to 30 in the third quarter.
The offense was firing on all cylinders in the win and Small was a big reason why.
Defensive: Aaron Beasley
On defense, linebacker Aaron Beasley had one of his better games of the season.
He led the team in tackles with nine in the contest. This included three coming in a solo effort. This explosive play led to 1.5 tackles for loss, too.
While LSU was held in check on offense, it was largely due to a Tennessee defense that stepped up behind Beasley.
What it meant
After a narrow win over Pitt in the second week of the season, there were questions to be answered about how Tennessee would play on the road against tough competition.
This was seemingly answered in the win over LSU. The team walked into one of the toughest atmospheres to play in across college football and forced the Tiger fans to head to the exits early. It was 60 minutes of pure domination from the Vols.
LSU also would end up as the SEC West champion. With its appearance in the SEC Championship game, Tennessee earned the bragging rights over the winner of the division.
This also set the table for the upcoming Third Saturday in October. Tennessee was on a crash course with undefeated Alabama for one of the biggest games of the college football season.
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