NASHVILLE — The 17th-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores aren’t happy with themselves, feeling they let a big opportunity get away in their first loss this football season.
Last week’s open date let them stew even longer.
“That Alabama loss made us even hungrier,” running back Sedrick Alexander said. “We knew that we didn’t play up to the standard of Vanderbilt football.”
The best way to wash that 30-14 disappointment away comes Saturday, when the Commodores (5-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) host No. 10 LSU (5-1, 2-1). The Tigers have won 10 straight in this sporadic series, but this will be only the fourth time these programs both have been ranked at the same time, and the first time since 1947.
This is the first season Vanderbilt has been ranked more than five weeks, with the Commodores already having a road win over South Carolina, which was 11th at the time, on their resumé. LSU is coming off a 20-10 win over South Carolina last week.
LSU coach Brian Kelly said his Tigers (5-1, 2-1) respect Vanderbilt because of what they see when watching game video of the Commodores. LSU beat Vanderbilt 24-17 in Baton Rouge last season.
“And their record now has spoken for themselves,” Kelly said. “So you don’t have to go in and (say), ‘Hey, this is what you’ve got to be worried about at Vanderbilt.’ No, they know what Vanderbilt’s about. … They have a resumé. It’s not a long resumé, but it’s a real resumé with the same players.”
Tigers quarterback Garrett Nussmeier likes playing on the road and is looking forward to his first game at Vanderbilt.
“There’s nothing like going and taking the life out of a stadium, making a big play and you hear the place go silent,” Nussmeier said. “Big road games are a lot of fun.”
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, who had only four interceptions last season, already has matched that. He had two turnovers to end scoring threats at Alabama, which was ranked 10th at the time and is No. 6 this week.
Pavia ranks fourth in the SEC with his average of 293.5 yards of total offense per game and is right behind Nussmeier in passing yards per game. Pavia also has 14 touchdown passes and has run for two more. Kelly called Pavia Vanderbilt’s point guard, and LSU will focus first on keeping the Commodores quarterback from running.
“Not to say that he can’t throw the ball, because he can,” Kelly said. “They average over 200 yards throwing the football, and he’s capable. But I think if you’re trying to choose one or the other, he’s going to kill you if he runs.”
LSU, which entered this week last in the SEC in rushing yards per game (115), is coming off its best performance in the running game all season in its victory over South Carolina.
The Tigers briefly eclipsed the 170-yard mark before taking a couple knees to run out the clock, dropping their final total on the ground to 166 yards. Vanderbilt ranks 16th nationally in run defense, giving up an average of just 90.8 yards per game.
The Tigers also learned a little more about their passing against the Gamecocks.
After LSU tight end Trey’Dez Green had eight catches for 119 yards and a touchdown last week, Kelly said the 6-foot-7 former college basketball player is an obvious mismatch the Tigers need to exploit regularly. He’s sticking to that as LSU prepares for Vanderbilt.
“If one guy gets more attention than the other, maybe he doesn’t get nine catches,” Kelly said, “but maybe somebody else opens up the field for him, and that’s what a dynamic tight end does for you.”