Vanderbilt Three Keys: LSU

The Vanderbilt Commodores host the LSU Tigers on Saturday in Nashville. Here are your three keys to a Vandy victory.

By Don Yates

1. Quick lessons learned

Vanderbilt started a true freshman in Ken Seals at quarterback in the opener at Texas A&M. Seals did really well considering that less than a year ago he was still in high school. For Vandy to win this game they need Seals to play even better against LSU. No one is saying he played poorly in the opener. It’s just that in order for Vandy to beat LSU they need every player to step it up a notch and part of that is learning from their mistakes.

2. Pressure Brennan

For a team that had hardly any starters from 2019 playing, LSU did fairly well against Mississippi State, at least offensively. QB Myles Brennan actually had a pretty good game for the Tigers completing 27 of 46 passes for 345 yards and three touchdowns. The Vandy defense has to get some pressure on Brennan or it could be a long day at the office for the ‘Dores. Brennan did have a pair of interceptions in that game with State. If Vandy can get themselves a pair of picks from the Tigers that’ll certainly increase their chances of pulling off a win.

3. Keep getting takeaways

Vanderbilt recovered three fumbles in the game against Texas A&M. It was the most fumble recoveries in a game by a Commodore team since 2015. Simply put, those fumble recoveries gave the ‘Dores a shot to beat a top 10 team on the road. It doesn’t have to be just fumble recoveries, of course, interceptions are gold too. That safety scored on the Aggies helped the cause although that was the result of a penalty on A&M. Give first-year Commodore defensive coordinator Ted Roof some credit. Whatever he did in practice worked well in the turnover department. The defense as a whole showed aggressiveness and tenacity. Let’s hope that continues.

Saturday‘s game kicks off at 6:30 PM CT (7:30 PM ET). Watch on the SEC Network.