LSU Football: 5 Things We Learned from the Tigers Win vs. Tennessee

After two dominating home wins over Kentucky and Florida the past two weeks, making the trip to Neyland Stadium was expected to be a more difficult challenge.

Well, twas not the case as the Bayou Bengals smashed the Tennessee Volunteers 38-7.

And with that in mind, winning a game like this, one that appeared to be a trap game, was very impressive.

In turn, here are five things we learned from LSU's road win.

SEC East Still Much Weaker Than SEC West

As evidenced by the 2010 season, the SEC West was much, much better than the SEC East.

Heading into this season though, the SEC East had definitely improved—South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia most notably.

However, the SEC West has proven once again to be the much better division in the conference, and LSU's 38-7 W in Tennessee surely helps that case.

And until the SEC East can best the West in the championship game, the Bayou Bengals and company are the big brothers (so to speak).

Jordan Jefferson Isn't Needed as Much as Expected

Even though Jordan Jefferson has been gradually used more and more since his return, prior to that, it was uncertain how much he would be missed.

To make a long story short, not at all. Backup Jarrett Lee came in and was the best game managing QB since Brad Johnson.

Jefferson's services will most likely revert to those short-yardage situations i.e. inside the five yard-line, but the Tigers honestly don't need him to succeed.

Lee has done a great job, proved all skeptics wrong, evidenced by limiting Jefferson's usage.

Venue Is Irrelevant

Whether it's a home game, away, neutral site, field turf, grass, dome, whatever and wherever the contest is played and the surface, these Bayou Bengals don't care.

They've played in a pro stadium (the neutral site game in Dallas), as well as legendary places like Morgantown, WV. and Neyland Stadium.

Now obviously you could say this for any team that goes undefeated and wins a national title, but in terms of just the LSU Tigers, you can't.

The Bayou Bengals have three national titles (1958, 2003, 2007); however, '03 and '07 were not perfect seasons.

And when they went perfect in 1958, for as big as college football was then, it's no comparison to its popularity and historical importance now.

Sometimes playing in a hostile environment takes effect, but that has yet to affect these Tigers. 

Jarrett Lee Is the Best SEC QB

Yes, this is a stretch and most are going to disagree, but was LSU's offense this methodically effective when Jordan Jefferson was under center?

Jarrett Lee has come in and done everything correctly, which is not easy in FBS football, let alone the SEC.

And being the best doesn't mean putting up an insane number of yards and TDs, it's about winning and winning soundly.

Jarrett Lee may only have 10 TD passes and 1,062 yards passing.

However, he's only thrown one pick, hasn't fumbled, and plays within himself.

He may also be the smartest QB in the conference, because it's not every year we see a backup QB come in and play almost flawless football on a team that has national title implications.

Cam Newton wasn't a backup for one, and two, Auburn was ranked No. 23 at the beginning of 2010, so there was nowhere near as much immediate pressure on him as there was Lee.

LSU Has Nation's Best Secondary

Sure it's debatable with Alabama, but Les Miles' secondary has shut-down some pretty sick offenses as well.

Sophomore Tyrann Mathieu is a sleeper Heisman candidate, Morris Claiborne is arguably just as good at picking off passes and getting return yards as Mathieu is at causing fumbles.

The scary part is Mathieu leads the way with Claiborne right behind, but that leaves Eric Reed and Brandon Taylor going overlooked.

What's also important to remember here is that the game of football, at all levels, is becoming more pass-oriented.

So, having a secondary that is your defense's greatest strength is arguably the most important unit on the team.

LSU has that type of secondary, and they're what really makes the Bayou Bengals' defense just insanely good.

Be sure to check out John on Bleacher Report. 

And, you can follow him on Twitter @ Sportswriter27.