LSU Football: 3 takeaways from win over Tennessee in Week 12

Newly named interim head coach for the Tennessee Volunteers, Brady Hoke, was not able to defeat LSU football in his first game in Knoxville.

No. 20 LSU football got a big win over the Tennessee Volunteers in Week 12 at Neyland Stadium, but it did not come without some speed bumps along the way. True freshman quarterback Jarrett Guarantano and the Vols did not give up easy against the Tigers.

Any shot that LSU had of winning the SEC West went out the window with the loss to the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide a few weeks ago. However, LSU could still be one of the top teams in the SEC by year’s end if the Tigers continue to play this way.

Moreover, LSU got Tennessee at a great time, in the first game after the end of the Butch Jones era in Knoxville. This game was closer than the Tigers would have liked it to be for a good amount of time. Tennessee knew that star running back Derrius Guice would get the bulk of the load on offense.

For Tennessee to have pulled off the upset, LSU would need to have played like they did in the loss to the Troy Trojans earlier in the season. However, since that loss, head coach Ed Orgeron had the Tigers prepared week in and week out.

The only loss for LSU since the upset against Troy was the 14-point loss to the Crimson Tide. LSU did rebound in Week 11, though, with a 33-10 victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks. The Tigers took that winning streak to two games by defeating the Vols.

Here are three takeaways from LSU’s win over the Tennessee Volunteers in Week 12.