Incomplete passes and penalties are two words that can sum up the first half for Tennessee in Monday’s game against LSU.
Shock and dismay are two words that could sum up the second half for LSU.
Halftime is a break in between the second and third quarter to take a breather and refocus, but for coach Phillip Fulmer’s Volunteers it was a time to reflect on more than the obvious in a football game.
“We talked about our heart and the orange and white and representing Tennessee,” Fulmer said. “We knew the first five minutes were going to be important. Rick Clausen is one of the greatest stories in college football.”
Senior quarterback Clausen spent most of the week coping with his starting position being swept out from under him by sophomore Erik Ainge. It was not until Ainge had difficulties with the pressure of LSU’s pass coverage in the first half, that Clausen got a second chance.
“I didn’t want to be out there to be honest with you,” Clausen said. “Those guys in the locker room stuck with me. They kept me in it. They said we want you here. We want you in this. I’ll forever be in debt to them.”
Clausen entered the game in the final minutes of the first half. Ainge had been held to 37 yards in the first quarter with only five completions in 14 attempts. LSU’s defense remained consistent on its coverage in the second quarter, breaking up 12 passes and forcing one interception returned for a touchdown.
Senior linebacker Kenneth Hollis was surrounded by two Volunteers but came up with the ball and rushed into the end zone to give the Tigers their biggest lead of the night 21-0. Hollis – along with the remainder of the defense – took advantage of the Tennessee mishaps in the first half, but saw a transformed offense led by Clausen throughout the second half.
“[Clausen] didn’t make a difference to me,” Hollis said. “It was us and our mental mistakes. We messed up.”
Tennessee said they were not affected by a large deficit early in the game.
“We have been down before,” said running back Gerald Riggs Jr. “We’ve got an experienced team. We’ve got a lot of veterans on this team. We knew we were going to play. We just had to go out there, settle down and execute our plays. We didn’t get too caught up in what the score was. We just stayed level and finished the game.”
LSU’s season opener against Arizona State sent the team home with a win, but also a lot of adjustments to make on defense. LSU’s pass coverage gave up 461 yards giving them two weeks to work on improvement. This week Miles is more worried about not only the physical improvement of his team, but also the mental development.
“I think there will definitely be some adjustments made,” Miles said. “You just don’t know to what extent it means to being on the field – being in the game.”
Contact Tabby Soignier at [email protected]