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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- For a night, Rohan Davey and the LSU
Tigers met every challenge.
|  | | Fans bring down a goal post at Tiger Stadium following LSU's 38-31 upset win over Tennessee. |
Davey threw a 25-yard touchdown pass -- his fourth of the game --
to Robert Royal on the first play of overtime to give LSU a 38-31
victory over No. 11 Tennessee on Saturday night.
Davey, making his first start of the season, played through the
pain of knee and ankles injuries.
"We always talk about playing with toughness and playing with
pain," Davey said. "Well, that's what I did."
It was the first overtime game in Tiger Stadium history, and
sent the victory-starved LSU fans swarming onto the field, where they quickly toppled both goal posts.
"I feel really good for the state of Louisiana and all the
people who support us," LSU coach Nick Saban said. "It was really
an emotional lift for us to have a crowd like that."
After LSU scored, Tennessee drove to the 3, but third- and
fourth-down passes to the end zone were broken up by cornerback
Damien James.
"They weren't doing anything unexpected," said Tennessee
defensive back Teddy Gaines. "We came out kind of flat and it took
us a while to realize we had a ball game on our hands."
Tennessee did not score a touchdown until the third quarter,
then scored 25 second-half points. The Vols, who overcame an
18-point deficit, tied it at 31 with 1:30 left in regulation on
A.J. Suggs' 16-yard scoring pass to Cedrick Wilson, and Suggs' pass
to Eric Parker on the 2-point conversion.
"This is one of the most hostile environments we've been in,"
Suggs said. "I thought we played well considering that."
LSU's John Corbello, who kicked a 47-yard field goal in the
first quarter, missed a 46-yarder on the final play of regulation.
Suggs hit John Finlayson with a 7-yard scoring pass in the third
quarter, and added a 16-yarder to Will Bartholomew in the fourth,
then hit Donte Stallworth on the 2-point conversion.
Davey, wearing a brace on his knee because of tendinitis and
limping on an ankle injured late in the second quarter, threw four
touchdown passes in his first start of the year.
In regulation, Davey threw touchdown passes of 16, 31 and 53
yards to Josh Reed. The LSU offense, which managed only one
touchdown last week in a 13-10 home loss to Alabama-Birmingham,
amassed 460 total yards against Tennessee.
It's the first time LSU (3-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) has
beaten a ranked team since 1998, and just the fourth victory
against an SEC team in three years.
"We knew that we had to come in and it was do or die," Reed
said. "We wanted to get a victory in SEC play."
Tennessee (2-2, 0-2) was making its first road trip of the year.
The Volunteers had not played in Baton Rouge since 1993 and had not
lost in Tiger Stadium since 1974.
Davey replaced Josh Booty, the starter in the first four LSU
games. Booty fell out of favor when, with 30 seconds left and the
score tied against UAB, he tried to ad-lib a play but instead
threw his fourth interception of the game to set up UAB's winning
field goal.
Davey completed 23 of 35 passes for 318 yards and no
interceptions. Reed had seven catches for 146 yards.
LSU running back LaBrandon Toefield rushed 15 times for 120
yards and a touchdown against the SEC's stingiest rushing defense.
"They played exceptionally well and they were coached and ready
to play," said Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer. "It just goes to show
how much emotion plays into this game."
LSU scored on its first possession, moving only 35 yards, but
getting close enough for a field goal that made it 3-0 1:23 into
the game.
By halftime the Tigers were ahead 24-6 as a surprisingly
effective offense moved the ball and the hustling defense harried
the Tennessee quarterbacks and held Travis Henry to just 43 yards
rushing in the first half and 89 yards on the game.
After trading a pair of 47-yard field goals in the first
quarter, LSU put up three first-half touchdowns against a defense
that had given up five TDs in the previous three games.
Davey hit Reed for a 16-yard touchdown two minutes into the
second quarter. The pair connected again with 5:48 left in the half
on a 31-yard scoring pass.
Between the two touchdown passes, Toefield ran 74 yards to
score the longest rushing touchdown for LSU since
1998. Tennessee had allowed only 47.7 rushing yards per game and a
single 25-yard run had been the biggest gain against the
Volunteers.
Tennessee managed 132 yards in the first half, but produced only
a second field goal by Alex Walls, a 36-yarder in the second
quarter. Walls also kicked a 46-yarder in the third quarter.
Tennessee adjusted at halftime and held LSU to 17 yards total in
the third quarter while the Volunteers gained 101.
Suggs completed 37 of 59 passes for 319 yards as LSU pressured
him all game.
A crowd of 91,682 watched the game. It was the largest crowd to
see a sporting event in Louisiana and the first sellout since LSU
expanded the stadium to the fourth-largest on-campus stadium in the
country.
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Tennessee Clubhouse
LSU Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Rohan Davey hits Robert Royal for the game-winning touchdown in OT.
avi: 549 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
LSU's Fred Booker knocks away a potential TD pass in the end zone.
avi: 479 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Josh Reed fights his way into the end zone.
avi: 610 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
LSU's Labrandon Toefield weaves his way through the Vols for a 75-yard touchdown run.
avi: 912 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
A.J. Suggs finds John Finlayson in the end zone for the touchdown.
avi: 698 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
AJ Suggs connects with Eric Parker for the two point conversion to tie the game 31-31.
avi: 578 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Tennessee's Tad Golden blocks LSU's last-second field goal attempt.
avi: 656 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Rohan Davey and his LSU teammates wanted to come out and play hard.
wav: 83 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Vols' coach Phil Fulmer gives the LSU Tigers some much deserved credit.
wav: 180 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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