LSU football, Brian Kelly embarrassed by No. 8 Tennessee at Tiger Stadium

BATON ROUGE, La. — A disastrous performance at home will lead to questions about the direction of the LSU football program early in Brian Kelly's tenure.

LSU (4-2, 2-1 SEC) doomed itself with self-inflicted mistakes and questionable coaching decisions in its 40-13 loss to No. 8 Tennessee (5-0, 2-0) on Saturday in Tiger Stadium.

Its special teams unit spotted the Vols 10 first-quarter points. The offense failed to convert on three fourth-down opportunities. On defense LSU didn't tackle well. And Kelly's gambles on fourth down will be dissected in the days to come.

The Vols (5-0, 2-0) led 23-7 at halftime and 37-7 at the end of the third quarter.

Every phase of the game contributed to the Tigers' meltdown.

Kelly told ESPN his staff got outcoached in the first half, and nothing changed in the second half.

Special teams ... again

LSU's special teams were a disaster again.

Tigers kick returner Jack Bech fumbled away the opening kickoff to give Tennessee the ball at the LSU 27-yard line, leading to the Vols' first touchdown of the day.

After LSU went three-and-out on its first possession, Tennessee returned the ensuing punt 58 yards to the Tigers' 26-yard line, which would have been a touchdown if it weren't for punter Jay Bramblett's impressive open-field tackle.

The mistake spotted Tennessee three more points to make it 10-0. Given how efficient and explosive Tennessee's offense has been this season, the hole LSU dug itself was detrimental.

Not executing on fourth down

Three crucial fourth downs in the first half went a long way in determining LSU's fate.

The first opportunity came on fourth-and-4 at the Tennessee 17 with the Tigers already down 10-0. Daniels found Boutte despite him slipping just before the snap, but the star wideout was stopped just short of the sticks.

Then on fourth-and-1 at the LSU 46 in the second quarter, Josh Williams was stuffed at the line of scrimmage for a 1-yard loss. The Vols then connected on a 45-yard touchdown pass on the next play to make it a 20-0 game.

Going for it on fourth down the first two times was sound thinking. Tennesee has an elite offense and keeping the ball away from the Vols as long as possible makes sense. The execution of each play, however, was simply not there.

But the same cannot be said for the third attempt.

With less than a minute left in the first half, Kelly trotted out his offense on fourth-and-10 at Tennessee's 45, despite trailing 20-7. Daniels was sacked for an 8-yard loss, resulting in the turnover on downs.

A 32-yard completion from Hooker to Bru McCoy on 3rd and 10 put the Vols in position for the 32-yard field goal which gave Tennessee the 23-7 lead at halftime.

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Jayden Daniels' solid day

Daniels had some opportunities to be more aggressive and missed a few throws in the first half. But overall, he was good.

The Arizona State transfer completed 16-of-24 passes for 180 yards in the first half and was more aggressive in pushing the ball downfield, especially in the second quarter. He also finished the half with a team-high 55 rushing yards.

It was a promising performance after Daniels failed to complete a pass in the second half against Auburn.

Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser and the USA TODAY Sports South Region. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU football, Brian Kelly embarrassed by Tennessee in blowout loss