LSU football snapped a three-game losing streak with a 24-17 win over Vanderbilt in Tiger Stadium on Saturday night.
The win reverses a month of turmoil for LSU that hit a crescendo with a loss at Florida followed by the nation’s top recruit, QB Bryce Underwood, flipping to Michigan.
Vanderbilt struck first, scoring on its first play from scrimmage. This thing had a chance to spiral, but LSU was able to settle down in front of its home crowd and respond.
With the win, LSU moves to 7-4 on the year and avoids its first four-game losing streak since 1999. LSU took care of business against a team it should be — that’s what you want to see from a team that’s endured the losses of the last month.
LSU is a program that expects to compete for national titles. With that out of the picture, we didn’t know what to expect on Saturday night. LSU didn’t mail it in and has a chance to finish 8-4 with a win over Oklahoma next week.
Here are five takeaways from LSU’s victory.
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Garrett Nussmeier’s struggles over the last month were a key reason for the losing streak. LSU’s quarterback bounced back on Saturday night, taking care of the football and leading LSU on some long drives.
Nussmeier completed 28/37 passes for 332 yards and a score. It was arguably Nussmeier’s cleanest conference game of the year. He pushed the ball down the field while taking care of it. He avoided sacks without pressing and making risky throws. Nussmeier took his check downs when they were there, keeping LSU on schedule and avoiding negative plays.
It’s just what you wanted to see after Nussmeier looked rattled in LSU’s last three games.
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LSU’s run game showed signs of life in the loss to Florida after weeks of struggling. The Tigers built on that success Saturday night.
Josh Williams ran it 14 times for 90 yards and two scores while Caden Durham added 14 carries for 58 yards. Williams’ touchdown runs were 20 and 21 yards — that matched the number of explosive touchdown runs LSU’s had all year.
LSU averaged over five yards per carry and posted a 48% success rate on the ground. Vanderbilt didn’t pose the same threat up front that some of LSU’s previous opponents did, but the Commodores’ run defense is competent. LSU’s performance on Saturday indicates real progress.
Left guard Paul Mubenga took a real step forward after struggling last week too.
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LSU needed this win. It needed it bad.
LSU’s last four-game losing streak was in 1999. Coming out of the Florida loss, LSU fans were questioning if Brian Kelly was the man for the job. This win won’t alleviate all the unease, but it should quiet some of the noise for now, especially if LSU can win next week.
Entering Saturday, I said we’d learn a lot about this LSU team’s mental makeup. The Tigers didn’t have the SEC or College Football Playoff to play for this week, but it didn’t matter. LSU didn’t quit and arrested the slide.
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Vanderbilt struck first with a 63-yard touchdown on its first play from scrimmage, but after that, LSU took care of business on defense.
The Commodores mustered up another touchdown in the fourth quarter, but they never really threatened LSU in the second half.
Vanderbilt’s overall numbers on the night were solid, but Vandy went 2/10 on third down. LSU got off the field when it needed to.
LSU has struggled with dual-threat QBs this year, but Pavia ran for just 43 yards on the LSU defense. Again, it wasn’t perfect, but it’s hard to complain about LSU’s defensive effort.
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LSU head coach mentioned it in his sideline interview entering the fourth quarter — LSU’s struggled to close games out in 2024. In three of LSU’s four losses, the Tigers were in a position to win the game in the second half, but let the game slip away.
LSU was in that position again on Saturday night, but this time, it finished the job.
After Vanderbilt scored a touchdown to make it a one-score game, LSU put together an 11-play, 66-yard drive to end the game. LSU made the necessary plays to win the game.
Not counting the one-play drive right before the half, five of LSU’s seven drives picked up 65 yards or more. LSU played with a different level of consistency in this one and it prevented Vanderbilt from claiming any momentum to start a comeback.
