Louisiana State @ Tennessee preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 2, 2010 ) Tennessee 14, Louisiana State 16

THE STORY: LSU's last three games against Tennessee — all wins — have been decided by seven points or less, including last year's 16-14 victory in which a Vols penalty allowed the Tigers to score a touchdown on the final play. The No. 2 Tigers hope things are less eventful when they go after their second consecutive 7-0 start at Neyland Stadium. For the second straight week, LSU will face a team without its regular starting quarterback. Matt Simms will start for the Vols in place of sophomore Tyler Bray, who is expected to miss about six weeks with a broken right thumb suffered in a 20-12 loss to Georgia last week. The Tigers are trying to finish off a sweep of SEC East opponents in back-to-back seasons for the first time in history. They made easy work of Florida last week, rolling to a 41-11 victory, their fifth straight against the SEC East, which is one shy of tying the school record. Tennessee holds a 20-8-3 edge in the all-time series, and LSU has only two wins in Knoxville, in 1988 and 2006. But the Tigers have won five of the past seven meetings.

TV: CBS. LINE: LSU -17

ABOUT LSU (6-0, 3-0 SEC): LSU has won its first six games by double digits for the first time in school history. The Tigers haven't trailed since the second quarter of the season opener against Oregon. That success has come with senior Jarrett Lee at quarterback. Lee has completed 60 percent of his passes for 947 yards, with eight touchdowns and one interception. Lee remains the starter, but he has split time with Jordan Jefferson the past two games after Jefferson's return from suspension.

ABOUT TENNESSEE (3-2, 0-2 SEC): The Vols are hurt by the loss of Bray, who has passed for 1,579 yards with an SEC-best 14 touchdowns and only two interceptions. But they do have an experienced backup. Simms will face an LSU defense that ranks in the top 10 in the nation in four major categories — scoring defense (eighth), rush defense (fourth), pass efficiency defense (fourth) and total defense (fifth). And Simms won't get much help from a running game that ranks 114th among 120 FBS teams, averaging 84.8 yards.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The winning points in three of the last four meetings have come in the final 10 seconds or overtime. LSU scored with nine seconds left for a 28-24 win in 2006, the Tigers scored on the final play to win 16-14 last year, and the Vols won 30-27 in overtime in 2005.

2. Under coach Les Miles, LSU is 13-1 when scoring a special teams touchdown and 8-1 when scoring a defensive touchdown.

3. Tennessee has not beaten a top-five team since knocking off No. 4 LSU in 2005.

PREDICTION: LSU 34, Tennessee 13 — The Tigers' defense won't have any trouble dominating a mistake-prone quarterback running a one-dimensional offense.