TENNESSEE (4-6, 0-6 SEC) vs. LSU (7-3, 4-2)
7 p.m. – Neyland Stadium in Knoxville
ESPN & 106.5 FM
THE MATCHUP
This LSU team hung tough with No. 1 Alabama and beat an Auburn team that is still in contention for the College Football Playoff. The Tigers have won four of their last five games and are competing for one of the conference’s top bowl slots. Derrius Guice is on pace to become the third SEC running back to surpass 1,000 yards this season, while receiver D.J. Chark is averaging a league-best 25 yards per catch. In the middle of the defense, Devin White is the first player in the league with more than 100 tackles this season, and LSU is ranked 16th in the country in total defense. That defense could be starting two freshmen in place of regular starters Donnie Alexander and Arden Key, who were described as “questionable” this week by LSU coach Ed Orgeron. Key is viewed as a potential first-round pick in the 2018 NFL draft and would be a big absence against Tennessee.
ONES TO WATCH
Tennessee’s grit will be tested. The Volunteers’ effort has never been questioned this season, but if they were playing to save coach Butch Jones’ job before, that motivation is gone now. With interim coach Brady Hoke leading the way, the Vols have talked about playing for the team’s seniors during the last two weeks of the regular season. That makes a great rallying cry, but can it translate to anything tangible on the field? LSU is arguably the best team the Vols have played since their 45-7 loss to Alabama. It will take a lot of fortitude to refocus after an emotional week and play well enough to hang with the Tigers. Jones is gone, but he did not take Tennessee’s injury woes with him. The offensive line’s lack of health, quarterback Jarrett Guarantano’s gimpy ankle and the depleted depth at wide receiver suggest it will be tough for this team to move the football against LSU. It will take an inspired locker room to make this a game to remember for the Vols.
IN THE END
This game looked like a toss-up before the season, but at this point LSU is more than deserving of its status as a 15.5-point favorite. Tennessee’s offense is sputtering in the wake of numerous injuries, and now its defense is in question, too. The Vols gave up 659 yards at Missouri last week in a 50-17 loss. LSU’s offense is less explosive, but it’s still potent. Tennessee is 11th in the country in number of fumbles recovered this season. Turnovers are what kept the Vols in games against Southern Mississippi and Kentucky, and it will take more of them tonight to keep the team’s bowl hopes alive another week. In the end, a depleted group of Vols playing with an interim head coach appears to lack the healthy talent and physical potential needed to hang with LSU. A loss this week would mean Tennessee will be playing to avoid the program’s first-ever eight-loss season next week against Vanderbilt.
PREDICTION: LSU 34, Tennessee 14
– David Cobb