Three Observations From LSU's Loss to Tennessee

The Tigers were out played and out coached in all facets of the game, special teams woes continue to hurt this squad.

Brian Kelly and the Tigers have some work to do. There is simply no other way to put it. After an embarrassing loss to the Tennessee Volunteers, it became evident this unit must find some answers before the rest of conference play continues.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and this coaching staff understands that, but it’s imperative this program takes two steps forward rather than two steps back in the coming weeks. Saturday afternoon shined light on a few pieces to this team.

Here are three observations from the Tigers’ loss to Tennessee:

Special Teams Woes Continue to Plague This Squad

It all started with Jack Bech fumbling the opening kickoff and continued deeper into the first quarter after a 59-yard punt return that put the Volunteers in great field position. We’ve seen this story quite a few times this season with no solution.

I've watched LSU Football for almost 40 years.

This is the worst I've ever seen their special teams.

And I don't even think it's close.

— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsESPN) October 8, 2022

READ MORE: LSU Falls to Tennessee 40-13 After Dominant Offensive Showing by Hendon Hooker

What’s next? Brian Kelly reiterated after Saturday’s contest that Bech is their “best option” as a kick returner. Will there be others who get a chance to return this week? Yes. But Kelly took up for the sophomore wide receiver on Saturday and trusts in his abilities.

The Tigers have work to do in this area but a bright spot thus far has been punter Jay Bramblett. The Notre Dame transfer, who’s been called upon quite a bit, has come up when this team needs him most while pinning opponents inside the 10-yard line on numerous occasions.

No Rushing Attack

A major takeaway from Saturday was the lack of success on the ground. While the Tigers did play from behind most of the game, which forced them to throw the ball more than they usually would, even on their attempts it was a struggle.

Taking Jayden Daniels out of the equation, LSU rushers tallied just 17 rushing yards on 12 attempts. While the running backs did struggle, a large part of the ineffectiveness can be due to the offensive line having zero continuity.

READ MORE: Starting OL Will Campbell Out for LSU's Matchup Against Tennessee 

Through 3 quarters, Tennessee defense has 5 sacks, 8 TFLs and has held LSU to 47 rushing yards. Byron Young with 2.5 TFLs and 2.5 sacks so far. Tigers are 6 of 13 on third downs but 0-3 on fourth down conversion attempts.

— Stephen Hargis 🇺🇸 (@StephenHargis) October 8, 2022

After Will Campbell was ruled out for today’s contest, the Tigers threw in Anthony Bradford to fill the role of left tackle. Shortly into the game we saw Garrett Dellinger go down with a knee injury. With a revolving door of offensive linemen, it’s hard to open up holes for running backs to go through and we saw that in a big way Saturday against Tennessee.

Jayden Daniels Improvement

It wasn’t perfect by any means, but there was certainly growth in Daniels’ game against Tennessee. Going 32-of-45 on pass attempts for 300 yards and a touchdown, we saw Daniels begin to be more aggressive on his passing attempts.

While he showed his ability to thread the needle on a number of passes, there were a few mistakes too, specifically on a missed read with Kayshon Boutte. The disconnect between the two has been a major takeaway this season, even if Boutte did get his first touchdown of the season Saturday night early in the fourth quarter.

READ MORE: Jayden Daniels Holds Players-Only Meeting, Building Trust 

It’s a work in progress with this offense, but Daniels continues to show growth each game. Though Saturday didn’t go LSU’s way, it was clear Daniels received the message from Kelly about being less “conservative” and being more “aggressive” with the ball in his hands.

Final Thoughts

The Tigers were simply out played and out coached in all three phases against Tennessee. With a nightmare start on special teams to missed tackles defensively, it wasn’t the Tigers’ day.

The inability to capitalize has plagued this unit in a variety of ways, but LSU has the chance to shake back against Florida next weekend as they pack their bags to Gainesville in a primetime matchup on ESPN.