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Tennessee football: Five takeaways from Vols’ 40-13 win at LSU

By Caleb Calhoun

Oct 8, 2022; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Jabari Small (2) celebrates with a teammate after scoring a touchdown against the LSU Tigers during the first half at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 8, 2022; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Jabari Small (2) celebrates with a teammate after scoring a touchdown against the LSU Tigers during the first half at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports /
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How do you criticize this one? Tennessee football remains undefeated after beating the LSU Tigers, a top 25 team in the AP Poll, in dominating fashion on the road. UT, ranked No. 8 in both polls, beat LSU, ranked No. 25 in the AP Poll and two spots out of the Coaches Poll, 40-13 Saturday afternoon at Death Valley.

LSU fumbled the opening kickoff, and the Vols went off from there, building a 20-0 lead. They never looked back, never letting the Tigers get within one score of them, as they beat LSU and won in Death Valley for the first time since their legendary 2005 comeback.

With the win off its bye week, Rocky Top improves to 5-0 on the year and 2-0 in the SEC. They will face the No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide next week. LSU falls to 5-2 and 2-1 in SEC play. Up next for them is a visit to the Florida Gators. Here are five takeaways from Tennessee football’s win at LSU.

These are the things we learned from the Tennessee football Volunteers’ victory over the Tigers.

Aug 7, 2021; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Detailed view of a yellow penalty flag on the field during the Arizona Cardinals Red and White training camp practice at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 7, 2021; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Detailed view of a yellow penalty flag on the field during the Arizona Cardinals Red and White training camp practice at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Penalties were an issue.

Okay, we’re starting with a negative. However, if the Vols aren’t careful, this will eventually come back to bite them. They should have gotten better at limiting such mistakes after a bye week. UT committed 12 penalties for 107 yards. They entered the game among the most penalized teams who gave up among the most penalty yards per game in the nation.

These penalty issues were on both sides too. Josh Heupel’s offense will naturally open the door to such issues, but having double-digit penalties is unacceptable. Eventually, this will come back to bite them, so they can’t afford to continue making these mistakes long-term.

Lucky for Tennessee football, LSU had its own issues with penalties, committing nine and surrendering 81 yards. That’s the one advantage to Heupel’s offense. The tempo forces other teams to mess up. However, coming out of a bye, the penalties can’t be what they are. If we’re to nitpick, that’s one main problem.

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