Leaving Neyland Stadium Saturday evening was a group of 35 or 40 people walking through downtown Knoxville, Tenn. attempting to recreate the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Their march began around 8 p.m. Saturday following the game, when the banks were closed and the only people still in the downtown area were those looking for their cars to head home.
They paraded on the sidewalk with signs, banging drums and chanting about the power of the people.
The effort intended to show that the middle class could stand up and take down the nation’s elite, but the march lacked the brains and talent to be even the least bit effective.
Ironically enough, the same thing happened to the Tennessee Volunteers that afternoon in their 38-7 loss to LSU.
The Volunteers came into the game motivated and played valiantly. They kept the score tied, 0-0, after the first quarter.
But then LSU’s superior talent and coaching kicked in.
Senior cornerback Morris Claiborne picked off Tennessee senior quarterback Matt Simms on the LSU 6-yard line and returned in 89 yards to the Tennessee 5-yard line.
The Tigers scored two plays later and never looked back.
LSU posted 383 total yards of offense, including three touchdown passes from senior quarterback Jarrett Lee.
Tennessee still managed 239 yards of offense, an impressive feat considering its seemingly never-ending injury list.
Star sophomore receiver Justin Hunter was out with an ACL tear, sophomore quarterback Tyler Bray broke the thumb on his throwing hand and junior linebacker Herman Lathers missed the game due to an ankle injury.
Senior running back Tauren Poole fought through a hamstring injury and carried the ball 19 times for 70 yards and a touchdown.
Simms — after being thrust into the starting role following Bray’s injury — turned in a lackluster 6-for-20 day, with just 128 yards and two interceptions.
Simms didn’t light the world on fire, but his mistakes only led to seven LSU points.
But sometimes a gritty effort gets rewarded with nothing more than a kick while you’re down.
That’s what happened to Tennessee.
Poole played through pain and Simms returned to action just as the Volunteers hit their toughest stretch of the season — playing LSU and Alabama back-to-back.
Things have gotten so rough in Knoxville that Tennessee coach Derek Dooley’s mom has had to call in radio shows to defend her son’s job.
Now the Volunteers get to face the No. 2 team in the country in Alabama, who comes in fresh off a 52-7 dismantling of Ole Miss.
The Rebels jumped out to a 7-0 lead on the first possession of the game.
Alabama then scored 52 consecutive points.
Junior running back Trent Richardson exploded for 183 yards on 17 carries and four touchdowns for the Crimson Tide. The backbreaker came on a 76-yard touchdown rush in which Richardson bobbed and weaved his way through Rebel defenders.
The entire Ole Miss offense gained 141 yards — 72 of which came on the opening drive.
Both LSU and Alabama found ways to kill its opponent’s will to live, slowly and steadily.
College football’s rich just keep on getting richer and the have-nots continue to be left out in the cold marching alone.
No matter how hard the underprivileged fight, sometimes it just isn’t enough to make much of a difference in the long run. Sometimes you just end up chanting at empty buildings while the elite that work inside it are out enjoying the spoils of their successes.
 
Rob Landry is a 23-year-old mass communication senior from Mandeville, La. Follow him on Twitter @RobLandry85.
 
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Contact Rob Landry at [email protected]