LSU at Tennessee Line

Written by Steve Janus - Google +

This Saturday the No. 1 LSU Tigers will attempt to remain unbeaten when they go on the road to take on the Tennessee Volunteers. LSU improved to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the SEC with a dominant 41-11 win at home over then No. 17 Florida on Saturday. It was the Tigers fourth win this season over a ranked opponent. The Volunteers dropped to 3-2 overall and 0-2 inside the SEC with a 12-20 loss at home to Georgia. LSU has won three straight over Tennessee, but all three games have been decided by seven points or less.

Taking a look at the week 7 lines, oddsmakers currently have the Tigers favored by 15-points over the Volunteers.

LSU Tigers:

If anyone had their doubts about LSU, those were likely put to rest with their amazing performance against Florida. LSU dominated both sides of the ball, piling on 453 yards of total offense while allowing the Gator offense to manage just 213 yards.

Jarrett Lee remained the starter, despite Jordan Jefferson returning to the team. Lee played another mistake free game, completing 7 of 10 for 154 yards, including a 46 yard touchdown pass to Rueben Randle to put the Tigers up 7-0 early. Lee has thrown for just 947 yards in six games, but has just one interception to eight touchdowns.

The Tigers simply didn’t need to throw the ball against the Gators, as they rushed for 238 yards on 49 attempts. Spencer Ware led the charge with 109 yards and two touchdowns, while Alfred Blue had 70 yards and a score on 14 attempts. Michael Ford had been a huge part of the offense in the first five games, rushing for 322 yards ans six touchdowns, but had just one carry for two yards in the win over Florida. Either way the Tigers have one of the best rushing attacks in the country, averaging 183.5 ypg.

The Tigers offense will go up against a stingy Tennessee defense that is allowing just 20.4 ppg. However, the Volunteers have had their struggles against the run. They have allowed at least 110 yards in every game this season. With the way the Tigers play defense, if they can run the ball against Tennessee they should have no trouble winning this game.

Tennessee Volunteers:

The Volunteers nearly upset the Tigers on the road a season ago. Tennessee had a 14-7 lead and appeared to have won the game in the final seconds when LSU botched a play as time was running out. The Volunteers ended up having 12 players on the field, which allowed LSU to win the game with a touchdown on the final play of the game. Tennessee was 16.5-point underdogs in the game, and you have to believe they have had this game circled since the schedule was released.

Tennessee has had no trouble moving the ball in the passing game behind sophomore quarterback Tyler Bray, but their inability to run the ball has been their biggest downfall. In the Volunteers two losses against Florida and Georgia, they have combined to rush for a negative-29 yards on 44 attempts.

Bray didn’t have his best game last week against Georgia, completing just 18 of 33 for 251 yards. Bray finished without a single touchdown, after throwing for at least three scores in every game prior to last week. All the pressure figures to once again be on Bray and the passing game this week. LSU has the 4th ranked run defense in the country, allowing just 69.2 ypg.