LSU Football: No. 1 Tigers Must Avoid Letdown vs. Tennessee Volunteers

Tennessee will be without starting quarterback Tyler Bray, hasn't won an SEC game, are 16-point underdogs, and the Volunteers' only win since early September came against Buffalo. It's factors like that which lead to overconfidence, which is something the LSU Tigers must avoid on Saturday.

Senior quarterback Matt Simms will start in place of Bray and offensive lineman Alex Bullard has confidence the unit can still produce (via Yahoo! Sports).

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“Last year at LSU, (Simms) led us down there and we beat up on them pretty bad right until the last of the game,” offensive guard Alex Bullard said. “We have confidence in him. We can definitely win with Matt. We can beat LSU with Matt playing quarterback. It’s just all about 11 guys executing on both sides of the ball and doing what we have to do against these guys.”

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Volunteers head coach Derek Dooley and his staff will be pumping the team up using the usual underdog mindset, which is seemingly one of the most powerful motivators in sports. And LSU can't afford to fall into that trap.

It starts with Jarrett Lee.

The senior quarterback has done exactly what's asked of him—don't lose the game with a poor mistake—while filling in for suspended QB Jordan Jefferson. Lee is completing 60 percent of his throws and has eight touchdowns with just one interception.

And thanks to the Tigers' three-headed rushing attack and elite defense, that's all they need from him.

Spencer Ware, Michael Ford and Alfred Blue have combined to score 15 touchdowns in six games while gaining nearly 1,000 yards on the ground. When a team's running game is that efficient, a quarterback has more lanes to throw when he drops back.

The real story has been LSU's defense.

It's a unit that ranks eighth in the nation in points allowed per game, but that doesn't tell the entire story. The Tigers have already knocked off four ranked teams, and just one cupcake, which makes their points allowed number even more impressive.

Sophomore cornerback Tyrann Mathieu has been one of the nation's best defenders in 2011. It's rare for a corner to have the all-around ability Mathieu has exhibited. He has 41 tackles, five for a loss of yards, four forced fumbles, two interceptions and 1.5 sacks.

He's filled up the entire stat sheet other than a blocked kick and a safety, which you can't put past the talented New Orleans native.

The Tigers have a clear advantage in Saturday's SEC clash, but can't afford to look past Tennessee. With so many undefeated teams left, one loss will likely doom LSU's BCS National Championship dreams.