Tennessee Vols showed something against LSU that makes winning the SEC East realistic
The Tennessee Vols went into Baton Rouge and completely dominated the LSU Tigers, winning 40-13. There was a lot to like about what the Vols showed on Saturday. They were able to run the ball effectively — primarily with Jabari Small (127 rushing yards). And wide receiver Bru McCoy quietly had a huge game, catching […]
The Tennessee Vols went into Baton Rouge and completely dominated the LSU Tigers, winning 40-13.
There was a lot to like about what the Vols showed on Saturday. They were able to run the ball effectively — primarily with Jabari Small (127 rushing yards). And wide receiver Bru McCoy quietly had a huge game, catching seven passes for 140 yards.
The most impressive thing, however, that Tennessee did in this game is they "finished" in the fourth quarter.
If there's been one area where Josh Heupel's had issues during his first two seasons at UT, it's been finishing in the fourth quarter.
On Saturday, however, that wasn't a problem.
Despite getting down early, LSU never quit fighting. They threw some punches back at the Vols. And a couple of them landed. But Tennessee imposed its will on the Tigers in the second half to make sure there was no dramatic comeback like there nearly was in the Vols' win against Florida last month.
Tennessee slowed down its tempo at times to burn clock while also consistently picking up third downs to keep drives alive. The Vols even went for it on fourth down in the fourth quarter and showed a different look by appearing to run out the play clock before snapping the ball with a few seconds on the play clock and picking up the first down.
It's not so much that Tennessee finished the game against LSU that makes me think winning the SEC East is doable for the Vols. It's the fact that we're seeing this Tennessee team improve its weaknesses as the season progresses. That's the best sign you can see from a team.
The areas where the Vols have struggled — short yardage, finishing games, stopping the quarterback from running — have improved drastically as the team continues its march to Atlanta.
And those improvements are what make me think this team has something special.
Heupel has never put limits on what Tennessee can accomplish. Fans shouldn't either.
Featured image via Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports