LSU junior quarterback Jordan Jefferson burst through the hole, left would-be tackler Tennessee sophomore defensive back Prentiss Waggner grasping at air, and began a 83-yard touchdown run that came so easily it looked like he was sprinting down an incline.
 
Fittingly for Jefferson, it was all downhill from there.
Minutes after hearing a volatile student section chant his name despite booing in pregame introductions, Jefferson returned to the field and threw an interception on a badly-timed throw. He finished with 30 yards on just three of ten passing, the fourth straight game he failed to break 100 passing yards.
 
Enter junior Jarrett Lee, Jefferson’s counterpart at quarterback whose career has thus far given credence to the saying “truth is stranger than fiction.”
 
Lee, disparaged for 16 interceptions thrown in 2008, has received increasing support from fans for yet another chance at the starting job.
 
LSU coach Les Miles said he decided before the game to rotate the two signal callers beginning with the third possession.
 
“[Lee] was telling me that he was fired up,” said senior wide receiver Terrence Toliver. “My locker is right next to him, and he was telling me he was fired up and ready to go, and I believed in him.”
 
Tennessee junior quarterback Matt Simms effectively ended LSU’s game of musical quarterbacks with his three-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that gave Tennessee a 14-10 lead.
 
Needing a touchdown to win, Miles turned to Lee to win the game, leaving Jefferson to watch on the sideline.
“We just felt we were going to throw the ball down the field and felt some of those plays benefited [Lee] greater,” Miles said.
 
Lee looked to have proved Miles correct when he completed a 47-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Rueben Randle, giving LSU a first-and-goal.
 
What followed typified the LSU offense in 2010. After using a timeout to avoid a delay of game penalty, Lee’s fade pass in the end zone to junior running back Stevan Ridley was
intercepted, ending the threat.
 
Bailed out by a fourth down stop by senior linebacker Kelvin Sheppard, Lee was again sent out to try to win the game.
Win it he did.
 
Lee found Toliver for a gain of 21 yards to convert a fourth-and-14 and led LSU to the two-yard line before being replaced by Jefferson.
 
Jefferson, however, nearly lost the game by letting the clock run down to three seconds and mishandling the shotgun snap. Tennessee’s “Lucky 13” defensive formation earned him another shot, and Ridley broke through for the winning touchdown.
 
But when it came time to give credit at the postgame press conference, Miles was singular in his praise.
 
“Let’s say it the way it is. Jarrett Lee comes back in, fights like a dog in his stadium and wins the game,” he said.
 
However, he stopped short of naming a starter against the Florida Gators next week.
 
“It’s something that at this point, I’m not ready to say,” Miles said. “I think there’s an advantage to having a quarterback that takes all the snaps. [But], you have to use the talents you have available to you. That’s the issue.”
 
Toliver said he felt using both quarterbacks worked to LSU’s advantage in the game.
 
“Tennessee … they didn’t game plan for two quarterbacks tonight,” he said. “I thought [playing both quarterbacks] kind of worked out in our favor.”
 
Ridley was also hesitant when asked if he’d rather play with one quarterback.
 
“Look at Jordan. The first play of the game, he goes in and breaks an 83-yard run. At the same time, Jarrett Lee gets in a game, and he’ll pick a defense apart completely,” he said. “We’ve got both styles of quarterback. A lot of people say a two-quarterback system wouldn’t work, but I’m anxious to try it.”
 
In postgame interviews, Lee clung to one refrain when answering questions about sharing the field.
 
“We trust in what the coaches are doing, and we just go in there when our number is called,” he said.
 
 
 
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Contact Ryan Ginn at [email protected]