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Monday, September 26th - 7:30 p.m. (et)
The Sports Network
By Pat Taggart, College Football Staff Writer
GAME NOTES: A highly-anticipated SEC matchup takes center stage Monday night in Baton Rouge, as the 10th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers take on the fourth- ranked LSU Tigers. This contest was supposed to take place on Saturday, but was pushed back due to Hurricane Rita. Tennessee was expected to crush UAB in the season opener, but the squad only managed a 17-10 victory in front of the Knoxville crowd. That lackluster offensive effort apparently was not a fluke, as the Vols dropped a 16-7 decision to Florida last weekend in the annual rivalry game. With Georgia, Alabama and Notre Dame all remaining on the schedule, Tennessee still has many challenges ahead and can not afford to drop to 1-2 on the season. As for LSU, it had its season opener postponed because of the Hurricane Katrina tragedy, and the squad's scheduled home game against Arizona State on September 10th was moved to Tempe because of availability issues. That contest resulted in a hard- fought 35-31 victory for the Bayou Bengals, who gave Les Miles a thrilling win in his first game as head coach. Tennessee owns a commanding 19-5-3 advantage in the all-time series with LSU, but the Tigers posted a 31-20 victory in the most recent meeting in 2001.
Judging by the score of the Florida game, it is obvious that Tennessee struggled to move the ball and score points. The Vols rushed for only 66 yards in the tilt on 25 carries, and that led to a major discrepancy in time of possession. As for the passing game, Erik Ainge took the majority of the snaps, and although he did throw for a score with no interceptions, he completed only 14-of-29 passes. Bret Smith made four grabs for 27 yards with a touchdown, but those numbers aren't anything special for a team's top wideout. Tennessee did a terrible job of moving the chains, as it was a dismal 3-of-13 on third-down conversion attempts and 0-of-3 on fourth downs. In the opener against UAB, Ainge was completely ineffective under center, as he completed only 5-of-14 passes and was picked off twice. Gerald Riggs Jr., the team's talented tailback, carried the ball 23 times and finished with 110 yards. As for the receivers, C.J. Fayton paced the club against UAB with five grabs for 97 yards and a score. Clearly, the UT offense is at its best when it commits to the run.
The Tennessee defense was not dominant against Florida, but the unit certainly gave Ainge and the offense a chance to win the game. The Vols limited the Gators to 68 rushing yards on 37 attempts, and that low figure can be attributed in large part to five sacks totaling 39 yards in losses. Tennessee also avoided falling victim to the big pass play, as Florida averaged just over 10 yards on its 17 completed passes. While the defense was strong, the fact that it did not come up with a single takeaway was a bit disappointing. The Vols did manage two takeaways in the opener against UAB, and the fact that the defense gave up only 10 points to a solid opposing offense is impressive. In that game, Tennessee yielded a mere 53 rushing yards, and although UAB put up 282 yards through the air it took 27 completions to reach that mark. The Vols have registered six sacks through two games, and Jesse Mahelona leads the pack with a pair of them.
LSU actually trailed 17-7 heading into the fourth quarter of the opener against Arizona State, and the team showed a great deal of explosiveness by scoring four touchdowns in the final stanza. Special teams deserves much of the credit, as a blocked field goal and a blocked punt return within a span of just over a minute both resulted in touchdowns. The Tigers racked up 434 total yards in the contest, and JaMarcus Russel completed 16-of-29 passes for 232 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. His scoring pass was clutch, as he hit Early Doucet from 39 yards out with just over a minute left to win the game. As for the ground attack, Joseph Addai led the charge with 109 yards on 16 carries. Russell saw extensive time as a true freshman and tossed nine scores against only four picks a year ago. Craig Davis, the top returnee among receivers for LSU with 43 grabs for 659 yards in 2004, made a team-high four catches against Arizona State.
It is hard to give much credit for the opening win to the LSU defense, as the unit put up little resistance in the contest. The Tigers surrendered 560 total yards on 81 offensive plays by Arizona State, including 461 through the air on 35-of-56 passing. On 56 pass attempts, LSU failed to register a single interception, and the defense did not post a single sack either. Seven of the 11 defensive starters from 2004 are back in place, and that was supposed to be a good thing. After all, LSU ranked among the national leaders in scoring defense (17.1 ppg), rushing defense (99.8 ypg) and total defense (256.9 ypg) last year. LaRon Landry has led the Tigers in tackles each of the past two seasons, including 92 stops last year to go along with four interceptions. He tied for the team lead with eight stops in the opener, and he is undoubtedly upset with his unit's first showing of the season.
At this point, Florida and Alabama appear to be the two best teams in the SEC. LSU seems to be ranked a bit higher than the team warrants, but that can be said about Tennessee as well. Expect a defensive struggle in this one and give the edge to the home team.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: LSU 17, Tennessee 13
The Sports Network
By Pat Taggart, College Football Staff Writer
GAME NOTES: A highly-anticipated SEC matchup takes center stage Monday night in Baton Rouge, as the 10th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers take on the fourth- ranked LSU Tigers. This contest was supposed to take place on Saturday, but was pushed back due to Hurricane Rita. Tennessee was expected to crush UAB in the season opener, but the squad only managed a 17-10 victory in front of the Knoxville crowd. That lackluster offensive effort apparently was not a fluke, as the Vols dropped a 16-7 decision to Florida last weekend in the annual rivalry game. With Georgia, Alabama and Notre Dame all remaining on the schedule, Tennessee still has many challenges ahead and can not afford to drop to 1-2 on the season. As for LSU, it had its season opener postponed because of the Hurricane Katrina tragedy, and the squad's scheduled home game against Arizona State on September 10th was moved to Tempe because of availability issues. That contest resulted in a hard- fought 35-31 victory for the Bayou Bengals, who gave Les Miles a thrilling win in his first game as head coach. Tennessee owns a commanding 19-5-3 advantage in the all-time series with LSU, but the Tigers posted a 31-20 victory in the most recent meeting in 2001.
Judging by the score of the Florida game, it is obvious that Tennessee struggled to move the ball and score points. The Vols rushed for only 66 yards in the tilt on 25 carries, and that led to a major discrepancy in time of possession. As for the passing game, Erik Ainge took the majority of the snaps, and although he did throw for a score with no interceptions, he completed only 14-of-29 passes. Bret Smith made four grabs for 27 yards with a touchdown, but those numbers aren't anything special for a team's top wideout. Tennessee did a terrible job of moving the chains, as it was a dismal 3-of-13 on third-down conversion attempts and 0-of-3 on fourth downs. In the opener against UAB, Ainge was completely ineffective under center, as he completed only 5-of-14 passes and was picked off twice. Gerald Riggs Jr., the team's talented tailback, carried the ball 23 times and finished with 110 yards. As for the receivers, C.J. Fayton paced the club against UAB with five grabs for 97 yards and a score. Clearly, the UT offense is at its best when it commits to the run.
The Tennessee defense was not dominant against Florida, but the unit certainly gave Ainge and the offense a chance to win the game. The Vols limited the Gators to 68 rushing yards on 37 attempts, and that low figure can be attributed in large part to five sacks totaling 39 yards in losses. Tennessee also avoided falling victim to the big pass play, as Florida averaged just over 10 yards on its 17 completed passes. While the defense was strong, the fact that it did not come up with a single takeaway was a bit disappointing. The Vols did manage two takeaways in the opener against UAB, and the fact that the defense gave up only 10 points to a solid opposing offense is impressive. In that game, Tennessee yielded a mere 53 rushing yards, and although UAB put up 282 yards through the air it took 27 completions to reach that mark. The Vols have registered six sacks through two games, and Jesse Mahelona leads the pack with a pair of them.
LSU actually trailed 17-7 heading into the fourth quarter of the opener against Arizona State, and the team showed a great deal of explosiveness by scoring four touchdowns in the final stanza. Special teams deserves much of the credit, as a blocked field goal and a blocked punt return within a span of just over a minute both resulted in touchdowns. The Tigers racked up 434 total yards in the contest, and JaMarcus Russel completed 16-of-29 passes for 232 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. His scoring pass was clutch, as he hit Early Doucet from 39 yards out with just over a minute left to win the game. As for the ground attack, Joseph Addai led the charge with 109 yards on 16 carries. Russell saw extensive time as a true freshman and tossed nine scores against only four picks a year ago. Craig Davis, the top returnee among receivers for LSU with 43 grabs for 659 yards in 2004, made a team-high four catches against Arizona State.
It is hard to give much credit for the opening win to the LSU defense, as the unit put up little resistance in the contest. The Tigers surrendered 560 total yards on 81 offensive plays by Arizona State, including 461 through the air on 35-of-56 passing. On 56 pass attempts, LSU failed to register a single interception, and the defense did not post a single sack either. Seven of the 11 defensive starters from 2004 are back in place, and that was supposed to be a good thing. After all, LSU ranked among the national leaders in scoring defense (17.1 ppg), rushing defense (99.8 ypg) and total defense (256.9 ypg) last year. LaRon Landry has led the Tigers in tackles each of the past two seasons, including 92 stops last year to go along with four interceptions. He tied for the team lead with eight stops in the opener, and he is undoubtedly upset with his unit's first showing of the season.
At this point, Florida and Alabama appear to be the two best teams in the SEC. LSU seems to be ranked a bit higher than the team warrants, but that can be said about Tennessee as well. Expect a defensive struggle in this one and give the edge to the home team.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: LSU 17, Tennessee 13
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