LSU Football: Grading the Tigers' Game vs. Tennessee

LSU might not have looked like its dominant self early on Saturday afternoon against Tennessee, but after a shaky first half, the Tigers came to life and reminded all just why they are the No. 1-ranked team in America.

LSU's quarterback combination of Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson were great in this game, and the Tigers used their usual running back-by-committee plan to dominate the line of scrimmage. The result was a 38-7 win for LSU.

Let's break down the Tigers' win and hand out some report card grades.

1. Quarterbacks

Many people thought that bringing Jordan Jefferson back would cause unneeded drama at the quarterback position for LSU.

Instead, it is working to perfection.

Lee was great in the passing game yet again, completing 10-of-14 passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Jefferson, on the other hand, was great in the run game, rushing for 73 yards and a fourth quarter score.

This is hardly a competition between the two. In fact, it appears to be working out better than anyone would have anticipated.

Grade: A-

2. Running Backs

LSU might not have the best individual running back in the country, but it would be hard to find a better running back committee.

LSU features four solid running backs in their backfield, and five, including Jordan Jefferson's running ability at the quarterback position.

Spencer Ware has been the best of the group, and that was the case again on Saturday when Ware racked up 80 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Michael Ford also had a solid day, rushing for 35 yards on just five carries.

All-in-all, it wasn't a breakout day, but when a team combines to rush for 260 yards on the ground, its awfully hard to find many negatives.

Grade: B+

3. Wide Receivers

Rueben Randle is quietly putting up All-American worthy numbers this season. The Tigers' top wideout had another stellar game on Saturday, hauling in five catches for 86 yards and a five-yard touchdown catch on the first score of the game, early in the second quarter.

Outside of Randle, the group has been quiet as of late, which was the same story against Tennessee.

After several breakout games early on this season, Odell Beckham has been close to non-existent as of late, not recording a catch in this game and carrying the ball twice for nine yards.

Russell Shepard didn't record a catch either, although he did score on a rushing touchdown.

Shepard was great, but it wouldn't hurt to see the production more spread out amongst this group.

Grade: B-

4. O-Line

This LSU offensive line seems to be getting better every week, and they were great again in Staurday's blowout win over Tennessee.

As a whole, this line paved the way for 260 yards on the ground. The Tigers averaged 5 yards per carry, which is a direct reflection of how good this offensive line unit has been as of late.

At quarterback, Lee and Jefferson had all the time they needed to throw and when Jefferson was pressured, he was great getting out of the pocket.

Grade: A

5. D-Line

LSU's defense frustrated this Tennessee offense all day, and that all started with the dominant play of this defensive line.

The Tigers flustered Tennessee quarterback Matt Sims into two interceptions. He only completed 6 of 20 passes for 128 yards.

Overall, LSU finished with 383 yards of offense, while this defensive line helped hold Tennessee to just 239 total yards. LSU picked up 13 more first downs then Tennessee as well, which just goes to show how good this d-line was.

Grade: B

6. Linebackers

LSU's linebackers are improving, and while the run defense wasn't great, it was pretty darn good considering Tennessee's depth in its backfield.

LSU held Tennessee 111 yards on the ground. The Vols carried it 29 times, for an average of 3.8 yards per carry which is pretty average.

Do keep in mind that Tennessee became only the second team all season to top the 100 yard rushing mark against this LSU defense.

Tauren Poole rushed for 70 yards and score Tennessee's lone touchdown at the end of the second quarter. But that was it for Tennessee scoring, and the linebacking core locked this Tennessee offense down in the second half of the game.

Grade: C+

7. Secondary

Sorry Alabama fans, but you really shouldn't have much of an argument when it comes to the top secondaries in the nation.

LSU has the best. No questions asked.

The Tigers secondary was at it again on Saturday, forcing two interceptions. One by safety Eric Reid, and another by All-American candidate Mo Claiborne, who returned his pick 89 yards, which eventually set up an LSU score from Jarrett Lee to Rueben Randle.

Tyrann Mathieu didn't have any picks in this game, but he was active and in shutdown-mode all day long.

Grade: A

8. Special Teams

The special teams have been good, but nothing too special here from this game.

Mo Claiborne and Tyrann Mathieu are two of the most explosive return men in the country, but neither of them could get anything going in the return game.

Kicker Drew Alleman was 1-of-1 on field goal attempts and was perfect on extra points. Brad Wing was great in the punting game again, averaging 45 yards per punt and pinning the Vols down inside the 20 on two separate occasions.

Grade: C

9. Coaching

The Tigers didn't start this game out too impressive, going scoreless in the first quarter of play.

But Les Miles' pushed all the right buttons after that.

His offense was solid and his defense was great as always.

Grade: A-

10. Intangibles

Over 100,000 people were on hand to see this SEC showdown.

With the win, LSU improves to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the SEC, while Tennessee falls to 3-3 and remains winless in the SEC.

At the start of the year, many thought this game could be a potential preview for the SEC Championship game, but that does not look likely with the way Tennessee has played thus far this season.

LSU will now prepare to host Auburn this Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

Overall Grade: A-