LSU Notebook
Published 4:50 pm Monday, November 20, 2017
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — With defensive starters Arden Key and Donnie Alexander not making the trip, LSU started five true freshmen against Tennessee Saturday night.
Key was replaced at rush linebacker by true freshman K’Lavon Chaisson and another true freshman, Tyler Taylor, took Alexander’s spot at one of the middle linebackers.
There were also two freshmen in the starting offensive line with Ed Ingram at right guard and Saahdiq Charles at right tackle.
The other true freshman was free safety Grant Delpit.
MISKICK: LSU placekicker Connor Culp missed his third extra point in the last two games when he donked one off the right upright following LSU’s third-quarter touchdown. Culp also hit the upright with a 53-yard FG attempt on the final play of the first half.
Culp missed at 26-yard attempt in the fourth quarter.
LSU head coach Ed Orgeron said Jack Gonsoulin will handle the kicking duties next week against Texas A&M.
WOUNDED TIGERS: LSU DE Frank Herron went down early in the first quarter. Trainers appeared to be looking at his knee and he had to be helped off the field. He did, however, return in the second half.
TWICE WITH GUICE: Derrius Guice went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season early in the fourth quarter to become the fifth Tiger to rush for 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns in back-to-back seasons. The others were Charles Alexander (1977-78), Dalton Hilliard (1984-85), Leonard Fournette (2014-15), while Kevin Faulk did it three times (1996-98).
STATE VISIT: Gov. John Bel Edwards was on hand for the game and was on the LSU sideline during pregame warm-ups.
PEYTON’S PLACE: Tennessee honored its 1997 Southeastern Conference championship team during a first-quarter TV time out. Among those on hand was the quarterback, Peyton Manning.
FLIPPING: LSU captains were WR DJ Chars, RB Derrius Guice, DT Christian LaCouture and Herron.
CRAZY 8s:LSU won its eighth game, giving the Tigers a school-record 18 consecutive seasons with eight or more wins. Tennessee lost its school-record eighth consecutive SEC game.
THE SERIES: Although they play infrequently, LSU won its fifth consecutive game against Tennessee, a streak that started in 2006. The Vols’ last win was the noted 2005 game in Baton Rouge, which was pushed back to a Monday night due to Hurricane Rita and was Les Miles’ first game in Tiger Stadium. Tennessee leads the series 20-10-3. Saturday night was the first meeting since 2011, which was also in Neyland Stadium.
{{tncms-inline content=”<p class="p1"><strong>PLAYER OF THE GAME:</strong> LSU Derrius Guice did finally take over the game for game-clinching drive that are up 9 minutes, 11 seconds of the fourth quarter even when everyone in Neyland Stadium knew he was getting the ball left, right or up the middle. He finished with 97 yards on 24 carries.</p> <p class="p1"><strong>STAT OF THE GAME:</strong> Tennessee outgained LSU 287-281, although 132 of the Vols&rsquo; yards came on three busted coverage pass plays.&nbsp;</p> <p class="p1"><strong>TURNING POINT:</strong> When the teams returned to start the second half, the first-half drizzle had turned into a full-blown monsoon with sideways torrents of rain. You couldn&rsquo;t see the field from the press box. It appeared the Tennessee return team also couldn&rsquo;t see LSU&rsquo;s kickoff to open the half, which squibbed to a stop about the 3-yard line. The Vols recovered there. In the conditions the Vols tried nothing fancier than up than middle, and after a punt, LSU took over at midfield. The weather had calmed considerably by the time LSU drove the 50 yards for Guice&rsquo;s touchdown and a 23-10 lead.</p> <p class="p2"><strong>FOURTH-AND-FURTHER REVIEW:</strong> It&rsquo;s the kind of call you can make when your job is not on the line. And it looked to have bitten Tennessee when interim head coach Brady Hoke gambled on fourth-and-1 at the 49 late in the first quarter and it was ruled the runner was stopped short. But the play was reviewed and reversed, giving the Vols a first down. It led to a field goal that tied the score 3-3. The Vols weren&rsquo;t as fortunate when Hoke rolled the dice on fourth-and-1 from his own 21. UT came up short again and the Tigers scored two plays later for a 30-10 lead.</p> <p class="p2"><strong>NEW WEAPON:</strong> LSU&rsquo;s best offense early was the punt. The Tigers went three-and-out on their first four possessions, but two of the subsequent punts were fumbled by Vols returner Marquez Callaway. The first, recovered by Russell Gage at the UT 15, set up a field goal (without benefit of a first down). The second was recovered by Michael Divinity at the Vols&rsquo; 19. It set up a 10-yard TD run by Darrel Williams, which was the Tigers&rsquo; first first down of the night at 11:21 of the second quarter.</p> <p class="p2"><strong>BEST FAKE:</strong> On LSU&rsquo;s touchdown just before the half, three Vols hit Williams and drove him into the backfield. One problem. Quarterback Danny Etling still had the ball and nobody touched him as he walked in from 13 yards out.&nbsp;</p> <p class="p2"><strong>HOW STRONG WAS IT?</strong> Just before pregame warm-ups, the wind gusts in Neyland Stadium got so strong they bent one of the goal posts over. The maintenance crew had get out a level and straighten it up. The cheerleaders and flag girls from the bands had a devil of time controlling their flags too. During the monsoon that struck for the start of the second half, a metal piece was blown off the scoreboard.</p> <p class="p2"><strong>WORST BILLBOARD:</strong> When approaching Neyland Stadium the back of the end zone scoreboard has a Vols-related mural. One problem: the smiling picture of former head coach Butch Jones was still on it. Jones can&rsquo;t be too happy. He was fired last Sunday.</p>” id=”75297102-97a5-4bd9-9287-d1e00298d75d” style-type=”info” title=”Superlatives” type=”relcontent”}}
PLAYER OF THE GAME: LSU Derrius Guice did finally take over the game for game-clinching drive that are up 9 minutes, 11 seconds of the fourth quarter even when everyone in Neyland Stadium knew he was getting the ball left, right or up the middle. He finished with 97 yards on 24 carries.
STAT OF THE GAME: Tennessee outgained LSU 287-281, although 132 of the Vols’ yards came on three busted coverage pass plays.
TURNING POINT: When the teams returned to start the second half, the first-half drizzle had turned into a full-blown monsoon with sideways torrents of rain. You couldn’t see the field from the press box. It appeared the Tennessee return team also couldn’t see LSU’s kickoff to open the half, which squibbed to a stop about the 3-yard line. The Vols recovered there. In the conditions the Vols tried nothing fancier than up than middle, and after a punt, LSU took over at midfield. The weather had calmed considerably by the time LSU drove the 50 yards for Guice’s touchdown and a 23-10 lead.
FOURTH-AND-FURTHER REVIEW: It’s the kind of call you can make when your job is not on the line. And it looked to have bitten Tennessee when interim head coach Brady Hoke gambled on fourth-and-1 at the 49 late in the first quarter and it was ruled the runner was stopped short. But the play was reviewed and reversed, giving the Vols a first down. It led to a field goal that tied the score 3-3. The Vols weren’t as fortunate when Hoke rolled the dice on fourth-and-1 from his own 21. UT came up short again and the Tigers scored two plays later for a 30-10 lead.
NEW WEAPON: LSU’s best offense early was the punt. The Tigers went three-and-out on their first four possessions, but two of the subsequent punts were fumbled by Vols returner Marquez Callaway. The first, recovered by Russell Gage at the UT 15, set up a field goal (without benefit of a first down). The second was recovered by Michael Divinity at the Vols’ 19. It set up a 10-yard TD run by Darrel Williams, which was the Tigers’ first first down of the night at 11:21 of the second quarter.
BEST FAKE: On LSU’s touchdown just before the half, three Vols hit Williams and drove him into the backfield. One problem. Quarterback Danny Etling still had the ball and nobody touched him as he walked in from 13 yards out.
HOW STRONG WAS IT? Just before pregame warm-ups, the wind gusts in Neyland Stadium got so strong they bent one of the goal posts over. The maintenance crew had get out a level and straighten it up. The cheerleaders and flag girls from the bands had a devil of time controlling their flags too. During the monsoon that struck for the start of the second half, a metal piece was blown off the scoreboard.
WORST BILLBOARD: When approaching Neyland Stadium the back of the end zone scoreboard has a Vols-related mural. One problem: the smiling picture of former head coach Butch Jones was still on it. Jones can’t be too happy. He was fired last Sunday.