BATON ROUGE, La. — Tennessee’s 40-13 Saturday afternoon shredding of LSU inside Tiger Stadium was every bit as much about the defense as the offense.
The No. 8 Volunteers never let the No. 25 Tigers keep pace, holding LSU to 355 yards and recording nine lost-yardage stops. It marked the fewest points allowed by Tennessee against a ranked team since a 24-7 dumping of No. 12 Kentucky in 2018.
“Our defense had a really good performance,” Vols second-year coach Josh Heupel said. “We controlled and dominated the line of scrimmage. We gave up some plays in the pass game, but we found a way to keep them out of the end zone for the most part. They played with relentless energy inside of the pocket with our front four, and our edge guys did a great job of collapsing the pocket.
“We got enough push inside, too, to where there wasn’t anywhere for him to escape.”
Vols edge rushers Byron Young, Roman Harrison and Joshua Josephs had combined on just one sack entering Saturday’s fifth game of the season, but they combined for 4.5 at the expense of Jayden Daniels. Harrison also shared in a tackle for loss.
“It felt great,” Young said. “Coming into this game, I didn’t have many sacks but had a ton of pressures. It felt great just to break home.”
Tennessee was certainly seeking to atone defensively for its showing in the 38-33 topping of Florida on Sept. 24. Against the Gators, the Vols yielded 594 yards and five fourth-down conversions in six tries.
On Saturday, the Tigers went for it three times on fourth down and didn’t get any.
“I believe it was our best game,” Young said. “The way we came out reading all our keys and doing all our assignments — I think the reason was because we had two great days of practice with everybody locked in doing their assignments. I just feel like the preparation was the reason we came out there and did what we did.”
Stepping up again
Tennessee has now defeated Florida and LSU without the services of fifth-year receiver Cedric Tillman, whose high-ankle sprain suffered in the Sept. 17 rout of Akron prevented him from making the trip to Louisiana.
Bru McCoy, the transfer from Southern California, had five catches for 102 yards against the Gators and added seven receptions for 140 yards against the Tigers. The trio of McCoy, Jalin Hyatt and Ramel Keyton combined on 13 catches for 222 yards and two touchdowns Saturday, with Hyatt accounting for both of the scores.
“It’s just reps and reps and reps,” Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker said. “The receivers work extremely hard, and all throughout this summer, Bru was up here and working out and catching balls. As a receiving corps, we just continue to work together and gain that chemistry. He plays with a chip on his shoulder, and you can see that. He’s not easy to take down, and he’s very fast.”
Said Hyatt: “We want to make sure we’re consistent as far as our offense and that we’re elite at the receiver position. It’s the next man mentality for us, and everybody in that receiver room has confidence in everybody. When Cedric gets back, we’re going to be even more dangerous.”
Rotating tackles
Vols starting left tackle Gerald Mincey did not play Saturday, so JJ Crawford got the nod and wound up rotating with Dayne Davis.
Mincey’s absence was not evident, as Tennessee rushed for 263 yards and 5.4 yards per carry.
“They were playing confident, playing free and having fun,” junior running back Jabari Small said after his 22-carry, 127-yard performance. “I was telling JJ and Dayne before the game just to have fun, and they went out there and opened up holes and protected Hendon. I’m proud of all those guys.
“They’ve been really solid and really good, and Hendon can’t do what he’s been doing if he’s not getting protected up front.”
Odds and ends
The Vols increased their series advantage over LSU to 21-10-3. … Heupel improved to 40-14 as a head coach, going 28-8 with UCF and 12-6 so far with Tennessee. … This is the first time since 2007 that Tennessee has defeated three ranked foes in the same season. … The Vols have outscored foes in the first quarter under Heupel 243-61, which includes a 54-10 clip this season. … Tennessee’s final scoring drive consumed eight minutes and 47 seconds. … Hooker has now gone 17 consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass and needs one more to tie Heath Shuler’s program mark. … Small on whether he likes celebrating in a packed Neyland Stadium or watching an opposing stadium empty out: “That Florida game was something I’ve never been a part of, but this right here was just as sweet.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.