For a number of LSU players, it’s hard to forget last season’s home loss to Tennessee in Tiger Stadium.

It was a long-awaited home opener played on a Monday night because of delays and rescheduling due to hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Tigers jumped out to a 21-0 lead for a packed crowd in Death Valley, not to mention for LSU loyalists across the state, or displaced across the country, who were watching on TV.

Then they fell apart and lost 30-27 in overtime as the Vols celebrated on the field while stunned silence wafted over an emotionally drained crowd.

"For me, it’s on my mind, definitely," running back Jacob Hester said. "The way they celebrated on our field, the way they acted after they won."

Whether there really is a revenge factor when No. 14 LSU plays at No. 8 Tennessee today is up for debate. What everyone agrees upon is that the game carries important implications for both teams this season.

"I don’t think it’s revenge," LSU defensive back Jessie Daniels said. "Maybe we all want payback because of what happened last year, but I just think that it’s a big game for us. We want to win this game. I think that’s the big thing."

Memory Lane: Tucked inside LSUs 5-20-3 record against the Vols is one victory in Knoxville. Adding one to the record books would make for a satisfying business trip for the Tigers.

"I can tell you that might make it a little bit more fun to go to Knoxville and win," Miles said.

That’s how it was Sept. 17, 1988, when LSU blitzed Tennessee 34-9 for the program’s only victory in Knoxville. That group of Tigers left with a 14-game road winning streak.

That group of Tigers, who later won the SEC, played a rare Tennessee team that didn’t play in a bowl game.

Before the 1988 game, LSU quarterback Tommy Hodson and his teammates said they looked forward to playing at Neyland Stadium with a chance to end the Tennessee jinx.

"There’s something about going into a hostile environment and having a hostile crowd," Hodson told The Baton Rouge Advocate. "It’s relaxing in a way."

In 13 trips to Knoxville, LSU returned with 11 losses. There was the 0-0 tie in 1925, the first game between the teams, and nine subsequent LSU defeats before the 1988 victory.

One of the losses still resonates with longtime LSU fans. The Tigers, coming off a 1958 national championship season, took a 19-game winning streak, a No. 1 ranking and 7-0 record to Knoxville.

A bitter 14-13 loss to Tennessee prevented LSU from winning back-to-back national championships. The Tigers didn’t lose again until the Sugar Bowl, after the wire services awarded their championship trophies.

LSU won at Neyland in 1988 on a rainy day in Knoxville after escaping the outer bands of Hurricane Gilbert. Mike Archer, the coach of those Tigers, remembers a nearly full house when stormy game day arrived.

"It was a very dark, brooding day, and it was just pouring down rain, but there was orange all over the stadium," Archer said. "It was close to being filled, but I do remember them leaving quickly. We jumped on them pretty early."

Archer said Wednesday he didn’t know he’s the only LSU coach to win in Knoxville until a reporter told him.

LSU returned to Baton Rouge to little fanfare despite ending the Knoxville jinx. Archer was back in time for dinner with his wife at a restaurant, where patrons were surprised to see him back before sunset.

It was a far cry from 1959, when an estimated 10,000 fans swarmed Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport to welcome back the Tigers, whose plane had to circle a few extra times until authorities on the ground could account for the crush of supporters.

Archer said Tiger Stadium prepares LSU for games such as today’s, but there’s always some uncertainty. Nobody on LSU’s roster has played at Neyland Stadium.

"It’s not going to be intimidating for LSU because they’ve played in those places," Archer said, "but some of those kids that have never been in that environment. You never know how they’re going to respond."