Midway through the fourth quarter Saturday night, Tennessee optimists probably could see all the way to a BCS bowl. The extremists among them might have seen even further.

How about UT vs. Ohio State for the national championship?

Sure, a lot would have to happen. The eighth-ranked Vols would have to dazzle a few more pollsters, get a couple of favorable computer glitches and hope that several games beyond their control fell their way.

But they had done their part. They had overtaken LSU's No. 1-ranked defense with their No. 2 quarterback, redshirt freshman Jonathan Crompton.

They left it up to the Tigers to do the rest.

Nothing spectacular was required. LSU only had to stay in character.

The Tigers have been at their creative best against nationally ranked teams in close games. They have found ways to lose games like the one that was hanging in the balance at Neyland Stadium.

But they found a way to win one Saturday, and the solution was as basic as it gets. They simply held on to the football.

No one squeezed it tighter than wide receiver Early Doucet, who cut across the heart of the UT end zone to snag a 4-yard touchdown pass from JaMarcus Russell with nine seconds to play.

The touchdown gave the 13th-ranked Tigers a 28-24 victory. And it burst the BCS-size bubble of every orange-colored optimist in the crowd.

UT was officially eliminated from the SEC East race. It also was knocked out of the top 10, although that won't be official until today.

If you're looking for someone to blame, I recommend the 6-foot-6, 260-pound monster of a quarterback whose fingerprints were all over UT's come-from-behind, overtime victory at Tiger Stadium last year.

Russell, who threw a crucial second-half interception last year, appeared to be stumbling down the same disastrous path early in the second half when UT's Demetrice Morley intercepted his pass and ran 31 yards for a touchdown.

Russell threw two other interceptions, and the Tigers also lost a fumble, proving once again their talent is exceeded only by their self-destructiveness.

But talent finally prevailed. UT couldn't cover LSU's big, fast wide receivers. And too often, it couldn't tackle Russell once he awkwardly shifted out of first gear and rambled into the secondary.

Russell led all rushers with 71 yards on seven carries. He completed 24-of-36 passes for 247 yards.

You look at the rest of the stats and wonder why - even with all the turnovers - LSU needed that final drive to decide the outcome. The Tigers almost doubled UT's yardage; they had 28 first downs to UT's 11.

The Vols didn't blow the game. They simply lost to a better team, just as they did in a 21-20 loss to Florida.

But don't expect their players to see it that way.

"We should have won this game," UT running back Arian Foster said. "We should have won the Florida game."

To their credit, the Vols could have won both of those games. To their credit, they have overachieved in winning seven of their first nine games.

As UT coach Phillip Fulmer put it, "This team has a chance to have a fine season, and from where everybody expected it to be at this point, we're doing well."

UT players would be wise to remember that as they prepare for Arkansas next week. They also would be wise to forget that they lost 10-point leads to Florida and LSU.

They still can win 10 regular-season games. They still can finish in the top 10 and qualify for an attractive bowl.

And they still can succeed in distancing themselves so far from the 5-6 debacle of 2005 that their fans will think it happened to somebody else.