LOOK: Unbeaten Tennessee trolls LSU on Twitter after blowing out the Tigers
No. 8 Tennessee blasted No. 25 LSU on Saturday 40-13, running away from the Tigers from the opening kickoff. And the Volunteers, who traveled in numbers to Death Valley, wasted little time trolling the Tigers after the win.
The official Tennessee Twitter account rubbed a little dirt into the open wound for LSU.
“FIVE AND EAUX,” the Volunteers tweeted, riffing on the classic Cajun spelling of words ending with an ‘O’ sound.
LSU’s problems started right from the opening kickoff, when wide receiver Jack Bech fumbled a short kickoff and Tennessee recovered. The Volunteers scored five plays later on a 1-yard touchdown run by Jabari Small.
Things only got worse from there for the Tigers, compounded by some aggressive play-calling by coach Brian Kelly.
Kelly opted to go for a couple fourth-down attempts in Tennessee territory, the first of three such attempts coming from the Tennessee 14-yard line on fourth-and-4 in the first quarter. A short pass to receiver Kayshon Boutte connected, but Boutte was stopped a yard short of the sticks by Tennessee defensive backs Kamal Hadden and Trevon Flowers.
The Tigers went for two other fourth-down attempts in the half, with the Volunteers stopping both. The first immediately resulted in a 45-yard touchdown pass to Jalin Hyatt from Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker just one play after the turnover on downs. The second, coming inside the final minute of the first half, resulted in a Volunteers field goal on the final play of the half.
LSU was never able to get back into the game.
Unbeaten Tennessee to host No. 1 Alabama next week
CBS has already announced that it will broadcast the game between unbeaten Tennessee and No. 1 Alabama next weekend in a game that kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET.
That game will be a chance for Tennessee to show just how legitimate a contender it is in the SEC.
The Volunteers have yet to face SEC East power Georgia, so the Alabama test will be the stiffest the Vols have faced so far this season.
That’s not to say Tennessee is untested, though. Saturday’s win over LSU was the team’s third ranked win of the season.
Tennessee previously knocked off No. 17 Pittsburgh in Week 2, then took down No. 20 Florida in front of ESPN’s College GameDay in Week 4. For Hooker and the Volunteers, the 2022 season so far is going according to plan.
“Like I said before, we’re just doing what we’re supposed to do,” Hooker said following the LSU win in an on-field post-game interview. “Throughout the week we always was preaching we’re going to be in a hostile environment so we’ve got to lock in a little bit more. Per usual, just encouraging my guys to give it their all every down.”