After a week off, No. 8 Tennessee heads to No. 25 LSU Saturday for its first SEC road test of the season.
The Vols have lost five straight against LSU dating back to 2005 and haven’t played in Death Valley since 2010.
Here are three keys to a Tennessee victory.
Keep Hendon Hooker Upright
LSU’s passing defense ranks fifth in the SEC, giving up less than 200 passing yards per game. However, that doesn’t tell the whole story.
As expected, LSU’s faced two poor opponents on the season. The Tigers also struggled in the first half against Auburn. Auburn boasts one of the worst passing attacks in the SEC and was playing backup quarterback Robby Ashford against LSU.
Still, LSU gave up a number of busted chunk plays in the win over Auburn and has given up a number of chunk plays this season.
The biggest highlight from LSU’s pass defense was its ability to hold Mississippi State’s high powered offense to just 214 passing yards.
The strength of LSU’s pass defense is its impressive pass rush. LSU is fourth in the SEC with 13 sacks on the season and has been able to constantly get pressure against quality teams.
LSU has an abundance of newcomers starting in its defensive back field and while they’ve been solid, that’s still an area Tennessee will have the advantage Saturday.
The key for Tennessee’s offense is to keep Hendon Hooker upright and give him enough time to make plays down the field. Tennessee’s offensive line has done a strong job of pass protecting this season but the matchup with No. 25 LSU is its biggest test to date.
If the Vols can keep Hooker upright, they’ll have a great chance to light up the scoreboard at Tiger Stadium.
More From RTI: Tennessee Cornerback Set To Make Season Debut
Don’t Let LSU’s Passing Attack Repeat Florida’s Success
LSU enters this matchup with a dual threat quarterback who has been impressive with his legs but has struggled to throw the ball consistently.
That should sound familiar.
Florida was in a nearly identical spot entering its trip to Tennessee two weeks ago. Anthony Richardson entered that game with zero passing touchdowns on the season. He proceeded to throw for 453 yards and while roughly 100 yards were added in garbage time, Florida move the ball through the air.
Now LSU’s Jayden Daniels enters the matchup with Tennessee coming off of a game where he threw for just 80 yards. Tigers’ coach Brian Kelly discussed the need for Daniels to be more aggressive and trust his receivers earlier this week and Daniels reportedly hosted a closed door meeting to get the passing attack back on track.
Facing Tennessee and the SEC’s worst ranked pass defense provides Daniels and LSU a strong chance to do just that.
Tennessee can’t allow LSU to have the success that Florida did through the air. The Tigers are likely to have more success passing than they have for most of this season, but Tennessee must keep LSU’s passing attack from putting up the numbers the Vols’ defense have often given up this season.
I’ll be paying close attention to Tennessee’s pass rush. In three games against power five opponents, LSU’s allowed 10 total sacks. If the Vols can get to Daniels with just four rushers that makes life much easier on the back end of their defense.
Jump On LSU Early
Tennessee doesn’t have to get off to a hot start to beat LSU. The Vols are the better team and their offense is dynamic enough to not be killed by a poor start.
This key is more about making life difficult for LSU. Tennessee putting the pressure on LSU, taking the crowd further out of the early kick off game and putting LSU’s fate on Jayden Daniels’ right arm is a recipe for success.
LSU has played well from behind this season. The Tigers have a pair of two touchdown comeback wins and nearly did the same thing in their lone loss against Florida State.
However, I don’t expect Tennessee’s offense to give LSU the lifeline that Mississippi State did and certainly not the lifeline that Auburn did (the Tigers twice turned it over in the second half).
Josh Heupel’s talked extensively this week about the need to put LSU away when they have the opportunity. If the Vols jump out to a fast start I think they’ll do just that.
It’s not imperative for Tennessee to start fast to beat LSU, but if they do the Tigers path to victory becomes increasingly slim.
