In its first-ever game as a favorite against a ranked opponent, Vanderbilt looked the part.
The 17th-ranked Commodores knocked off No. 10 LSU at home on Saturday, earning the program’s first win over the Tigers since 1990. The ‘Dores had previously lost 10 straight in the series.
Vanderbilt’s win also moved it to 6-1 on the season and secured the school’s best 7-game start to a season since 1950.
Behind quarterback Diego Pavia and head coach Clark Lea, Vanderbilt football history continues to be rewritten. And Pavia, who flashed the Heisman Trophy pose after a second-half touchdown, was a maestro on Saturday.
He completed 14 of his 22 passes for 160 yards with a touchdown. He also ran for 86 yards and 2 scores.
Pavia had a fourth-down conversion late in the third quarter that set up a 21-yard touchdown to put the home team up by 10 points heading into the fourth. He was magnificent when forced to work off-schedule and off-platform. Vandy converted 6 of its 13 third downs and 2 of its 3 fourth downs.
The ‘Dores out-possessed LSU by more than 13 minutes.
Vanderbilt is very much a player in the SEC heading into the closing stretch. The Commodores face Missouri next weekend and then travel to Austin to face Texas on the first day of November.
LSU, meanwhile, finds its season on the brink. The Tigers have lost 2 of their last 3. They host Texas A&M next Saturday and then travel to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama.
The Tigers got their run game going against the Commodores, breaking off a 51-yard run in the fourth and finishing with 5.9 yards per carry (adjusted for sacks). And quarterback Garrett Nussmeier threw for 225 yards with 2 scores and no turnovers.
But, inexplicably, once the offense finally found a groove — it averaged 6.6 yards per play — the defense fell apart. Vanderbilt finished at 6 yards per play and 5.6 yards per carry (adjusted for sack). LSU brought Pavia down only once in the backfield.
Vanderbilt 31, LSU 24
Here’s the LSU-Vandy box score (use the dropdown menu to select team or player stats), followed by the complete play-by-play:
Garrett Nussmeier vs Diego Pavia
Can either quarterback get back in the Heisman race? A statistical breakdown of how LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier performed against Vandy counterpart Diego Pavia:
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
