Tennessee hands LSU a bitter loss

And LSU appeared ready to give its disaster-stricken fans a victory to celebrate, jumping out to a three-touchdown lead in the Tigers’ hurricane-delayed home opener.

But instead of a feel-good win, Tennessee handed LSU a bitter loss.

Rick Clausen rallied the Volunteers in the second half and Gerald Riggs Jr. scored the winning touchdown in overtime to give No. 10 Tennessee a 30-27 victory Monday night.

“I don’t know what happened out there. We played like a joke out there in the second half,” LSU defensive tackle Kyle Williams said. “It was nothing they did, it was everything we did. It was just an absolute joke in the second half. It was a complete and total breakdown.”

Nothing brings people in Louisiana together the way LSU football does, but hurricanes Katrina and Rita put the home season on hold for three weeks.

Katrina forced the fourth-ranked Tigers (1-1, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) to postpone their first home game, and move their second to Arizona State, where LSU came away with a dramatic win.

Then Rita created another delay and set up the first Monday nighter in the history of Tiger Stadium.

A moment of silence was held for the victims of the hurricanes before the game, and LSU’s band played “Walking in New Orleans” as a tribute to those hardest hit on the state’s Gulf Coast.

The stadium announcer welcomed fans to the first major sporting event in Louisiana since the storms, what he called “one of the most significant gatherings in the history of our state.”

He went on, “On this evening we vow to move forward under a common flag because this is LSU football; this is Tiger Stadium; and this is Louisiana.”

The crowd was a bit smaller than usual with several thousand empty seats in a stadium that holds more than 91,000. But they were loud as ever and early on the Tigers certainly looked eager to please them.

On the first series of the game, LSU safety Jessie Daniels sacked Erik Ainge and knocked the ball loose. Kenneth Hollis recovered at the Tennessee 19. On the next play, Joseph Addai ran 19 yards for a touchdown.

LSU was up 7-0 and Tiger Stadium was rocking.

JaMarcus Russell, the hero of the 35-31 comeback win at Arizona State, scored on a quarterback sneak in the second quarter, and Hollis made it 21-0 when he intercepted Ainge’s ill-advised pass and returned it 3 yards for a TD.

The Tigers seemed to be in control as they ended the half up three TDs, but really the lead should have been bigger.

They lost two fumbles in Tennessee territory and watched time run out in the half with the ball at the Vols 5.

“I think we just had a couple of missed opportunities,” Russell said.

Clausen, who transferred from LSU after the 2002 season, made the Tigers pay for not putting the Volunteers (2-1, 1-1) away.

“There was no panic,” Vols coach Phillip Fulmer said. “We challenged each other.”

Clausen relieved Ainge after the interception, and in the second half the senior sparked an offense that had scored just 24 points in 2 1/2 games.

He hit Bret Smith with an 8-yard TD pass to make it 21-7 early in the third quarter.

Chris Jackson’s 42-yard field goal made it 24-7, but Clausen capped another long drive with a 1-yard sneak that made it 24-14 in the fourth.

Clausen was 21-for-32 for 196 yards and likely settled the Vols’ quarterback controversy.

“Getting done what he got done, coming back here to win this football game at a place where he had been, I don’t know if there is a better story in the world than what this guy has done,” Fulmer said.

Jonathan Hefney’s interception and return put Tennessee at the LSU 2. And when Riggs scored from a yard out with 7:15 left in regulation, the crowd went silent as the lead was down to three.

Riggs’ 22-yard run helped get James Wilhoit in position for a 28-yard field goal that tied it at 24 with 2:02 left.

“I actually thought we were going to win in overtime,” first-year LSU coach Les Miles said. “I couldn’t believe that we didn’t win the game.”

The Tigers had first crack in OT, but managed only Colt David’s 31-yard field goal.

Riggs accounted for all the Vols’ yards in overtime with a 10-yard reception and four runs. He powered through the line and in for the score on third-and-goal from the 1.

“We have to put this game behind us,” Miles said. “This can’t be something that we hang on (to) and dwell on.”