No. 25 LSU fumbles, falters away lopsided 40-13 loss to No. 8 Tennessee

LSU started digging itself a hole before its offense or defense could even take the field early in Saturday's 11 a.m. kickoff.

The No. 25 Tigers' fumbled opening kickoff and poor punt coverage helped Tennessee build a 10-point lead in less than four minutes.

And a string of missed opportunities on dropped passes and failed fourth-down attempts further unraveled the home team's upset hopes in an eventual 40-13 loss to the No. 8 Volunteers.

"Well, that was not what we had planned, nor expected," coach Brian Kelly said as he approached the podium for his postgame press conference. "We expected to play much better than that. Certainly when you fumble the opening kickoff and give an extra possession to a team that obviously plays fast and loves extra possessions and then give them another three points and spot 'em 10 points on special teams, you put yourself in a huge hole.

"That's what we did. And then our details were not very good. I mean, look, I could stand up here all day — that falls on coaching. That's on me, and I have to coach better. We've got to coach better. We've got to coach our team better. That's the group we have, and we've got to coach 'em better."

The 27-point loss was the program's largest since a 38-point dismantling by No. 1 Alabama in Tiger Stadium in 2020.

LSU hadn't lost a home game to an opponent other than the Crimson Tide by more than 18 points since 44-15 to Florida in 2001.

But four of Tennessee's seven first-half possessions started on the positive side of the 50-yard line.

And the Volunteers took advantage of each of those and more to hand LSU the lopsided loss.

Tennessee climbed ahead, 20-0, on Saturday before the Tigers could score their first points.

"At the beginning, everything was on us," senior defensive back Greg Brooks Jr. said. "We beat ourselves in the beginning of the game and allowed them to get 23 points quick on us. That can't happen as we keep going into SEC play. Tennessee's a great team. Props to them. But we beat ourselves in the first half."

The Volunteers took advantage of 27- and 26-yard fields on their first two possessions.

A goal-line run by junior running back Jabari Small capitalized on the opening kickoff.

Then, following an LSU three-and-out, junior punt returner Dee Williams found a seam 58 yards upfield to set up a 35-yard field goal by senior kicker Chase McGrath.

"It stinks, right?" Kelly said. "We can't give up points. (Sophomore receiver) Jack Bech is the best guy we have. They put a pooch kick into the corner, and he's got to go out there and catch that football. That's the best guy we've got. Now, I'm back there, and we're working on those kicks. We didn't execute there.

"We out-kicked our coverage (on the punt). We bombed one into the wind. We give that returner about a 20-yard separation, and one of our gunners doesn't get off a block. He's the best guy we've got. So we've just got to coach better. And maybe we've got to simplify some things."

The Tigers began finding some offense on their second possession, but came up just short on a fourth down in the red zone.

"We got behind by 10 and couldn't match possessions at that time," Kelly said. "We were within the analytical numbers, too, so I was keeping an eye on where we were from that position. Once you get behind against a team like that, you know you're listening to both those and your opportunities to score. So I felt like we need to."

Senior quarterback Hendon Hooker led a 68-yard drive on Tennessee' next possession to set up a 38-yarder by McGrath.

And another failed fourth down by LSU set up an immediate 45-yard strike from Hooker to junior receiver Jalin Hyatt early in the second quarter.

LSU finally got on the board late in the half with a 96-yard drive by junior quarterback Jayden Daniels and company, capped by a 1-yard run by junior running back Josh Williams.

The Tigers forced a 50-yard McGrath field goal and miss on the next possession and looked to further cut into the deficit before the half.

Instead, a sack on their third fourth-down attempt set up Tennessee on the 47-yard line and helped set up a 32-yard McGrath kick as time expired.

Hooker and Hyatt linked up for a 14-yard score after the break, and Small added another goal-line score later in the third quarter to stretch the margin to 37-7.

Daniels found junior receiver Kayshon Boutte for a 5-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, the first score of the season for LSU's star pass-catcher.

And McGrath added his fourth field goal, a 32-yarder, to push the Volunteers to 40 points.

Daniels finished 32-for-43 for 300 yards and the score and a late interception and led the team with 38 yards rushing on 16 attempts.

"We think that the one part of the offense that was pretty good today was the quarterback," Kelly said when asked what thought might go into a potential change at the position.

Sophomore wide receiver Malik Nabers caught six passes for 80 yards for the Tigers.

Hooker finished 17-for-27 for 239 yards and the two scores to Hyatt, who caught four passes for 63 yards.

Junior receiver Bru McCoy led all players with seven receptions for 140 yards.

And Small rushed 22 times for a game-high 127 yards to lead Tennessee's ground game.

"Just attention to detail," Brooks said. "Everything we do has to be more focused on the field and off the field. And I'm gonna make sure I'm gonna harp on that to the guys this week."