LSU slips away with victory over Vols

Published 4:50 pm Monday, November 20, 2017

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — On weird, stormy night for LSU when the Tennessee Vols came bearing gifts for the entirety, Mother Nature may have been the Tigers’ best friend.

The TV announcers no doubt used the standard teaser that not only had the interim-coached Vols gained some momentum with a touchdown just before halftime that narrowed the gap to a single touchdown, Tennessee -— don’t forget -— would get the ball to start the second half.

It’s tried and … not always true.

In truth, the timing couldn’t have been worse. So bad that by the time the skies finished unloading for a short but LSU-friendly semi-hurricane, the Tigers were coasting to a 30-10 victory over the Vols.

Three of LSU’s scoring drives began at the Vols’ 21-yard line or better.

“Field position was huge,” Tennessee interim coach Brady Hoke said in a great understatement.

Never mind that it wasn’t really 20 points worth of easy for LSU. The scoreboard looked just fine — even with a good hunk of metal blown off it during the tempest.

The Tigers’ sixth win in seven games left them 8-3, 5-2 in the Southeastern Conference and with designs on the first 10-win season since 2012. Tennessee’s nightmare season, which cost head coach Butch Jones his job last week, fell to 4-7, 0-7, but will mercifully end next week with a bowl now out of the question.

If it wasn’t the prettiest victory LSU has fashioned, then you should have seen the weather.

“Halftime we went in there and said, listen we need to just go win the game,” LSU head coach Ed Orgeron said. “We did that.”

But little did he know what havoc was wreaking while the teams regrouped during the break.

When they returned the wind-blown drizzle had turned into sideways monsoon.

“We tried to block it out and didn’t tell our guys about it,” Orgeron said. “Storm hit and I thought the storm fired them up. Little kids playing in the backyard.”

“Doesn’t matter what the weather is,” said LSU running back Derrius Guice. “You’ve got to be ready to ball.”

Easy for LSU to say. The Tigers didn’t have to field the second half kickoff.

“It literally was coming down so hard I couldn’t see guys on the field,” Hoke said. “I’m sure they had problems seeing the ball.”

It took a while to sort out where Chris Gamble’s kick off ended up, but by the time anybody spotted it, Tennessee was forced to scramble and fall on at its own 4-yard line.

At least the Vols recovered it.

Two muffed punts in the first half allowed the Tigers to scored their first 10 points with 21 yards of offense and one first down.

But retaining possession was no bargain. With the elements not fit for man, beast or anything resembling a forward pass, Tennessee went nowhere just trying to survive the second-half opening and the Tigers took over at midfield for their first second half possession.

“They had to play in the same stuff,” Hoke said.

Not exactly.

When the Tigers took over — almost as if on cue — the heavy stuff pretty well returned to drizzle status and the Tigers marched methodically in relatively balmy conditions for Guice’s eventual 3-yard scoring run and never looked back.

LSU got another cheap one after Tennessee’s fourth-and-1 gamble from its own 21-yard line failed, setting up Darrel Williams’ 6-yard run late in the third quarter to complete the second.

Guice finished with 97 yards rushing yards and LSU rushed for 200 yards against a Vols defense that gave up more than 400 last week to Missouri.

“Kept grinding away,” said Orgeron, who admitted the Tigers were reluctant to throw with the high winds swirling every whichaway. “We called the right plays and finally blocked them. Thought we could run outside and they stopped it.”

For most of the first half, when it merely sprinkled, the Tigers’ best offensive weapon was the simple punt.

Two of them were muffed by Vols returner Marquez Callaway — one at the UT 15, the other at the 19.

The Tigers managed a 30-yard field goal on the first and a touchdown on the latter when Williams ran 10 yards for a score — and LSU’s first first-down with 11:31 to play before the break.

The Tigers did look to be taking control once Williams broke loose for a 36-yard run down to the UT 13. Etling scored on the next play following a beautiful fake.

It put LSU up 17-3 with 2:08 remaining, but Callaway promptly burned LSU cornerback Donte Jackson on back-to-back passes, first for 26 yards then a 46-yard touchdown grab.

LSU stiffened, however, after giving up a 60-yard pass in the third quarter.

“We’re disappointed in our man coverage,” Orgeron said. “Those guys are better than that.”