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Fansided

3 takeaways from Tennessee Football’s domination of LSU

By Chris Peterson

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - OCTOBER 08: Hendon Hooker #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers throws the ball during the first half a game against the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium on October 08, 2022 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - OCTOBER 08: Hendon Hooker #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers throws the ball during the first half a game against the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium on October 08, 2022 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Tennessee football is the biggest threat to Bama in the regular season

Not many expected Tennessee football to be 6-0 heading into its matchup against Alabama but that’s where we are and it’s going to be fun to see Neyland Stadium rocking for when the Crimson Tide come calling.

Alabama and Tennessee have always had a fun rivalry and a tradition of playing on the third Saturday of October. But, it’s been a long time since the game really meant something. This time around, both teams have legit playoff aspirations.

Tennessee is going to have to beat Georgia and Kentucky, so there will be a lot of work to do. But thinking long term, what if the Vols beat Bama, but lost to Georgia and beat Kentucky, finishing the season 11-1?

Even if Alabama won the SEC West, it would need to be a theoretically unbeaten Georgia team to make the playoff. If the Bulldogs won, Tennessee would be in pretty good shape for an at-large berth, especially if Clemson, USC, and other contenders falter.

Don’t make the mistake that Tennessee is all about Hooker either. Josh Heupel has built a really good team in a short period of time and the Vols had 263 rushing yards Saturday compared to just 55 for the Tigres and two yards per carry.

Tennessee had over 500 yards of total offense and when you add a solid defense to what Heupel and the offense bring, it’s more than enough reason to take this team seriously in the SEC.

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