The No. 10 LSU Tigers fell to the No. 17 Vanderbilt Commodores 31-24 Saturday in Nashville, Tenn.
LSU dropped to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the SEC. Vanderbilt improved to 6-1 and 2-1.
The victory was Vandy’s first over LSU in 35 years.
The Tigers had no answer for Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia.
He ran for 86 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 160 and one.
Pavia’s second touchdown came on a 21-yard run with 27 seconds left in the third quarter. The PAT gave Vanderbilt a 31-21 lead.
LSU then drove 73 yards to a first-and-goal at the 2. Caden Durham went up the middle for a yard on first down.
The Tigers then had a touchdown pass erased by a false start penalty. On second down from the 5 Ju’Juan Johnon was tackled for a 1-yard loss.
After an incomplete pass, LSU was forced to settle for a 23-yard Damian Ramos field goal with 11:39 still left to play.
The Tigers had two more chances to close the gap after forcing punts. But those two possessions resulted in a net loss of 10 yards and two punts.
The second came with 3:12 left in the game. Vanderbilt took over at its 42 and Makilhyn Young broke loose for a 43-yard gain to the 15. On third-and-7 from the 12, Pavia ran for a first down at the 1.
The Commodores then ran out the clock for the victory.
“Our guys knew we were playing a team that was going to make it very difficult for us to possess the ball,” LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly said.
“We had three possessions in the first half.
It’s like playing the triple option. We did not play well enough on either side of the ball to beat a better team today. And Vanderbilt was the better team today because they executed at a higher level.
“So when you look at it in its totality — defensively not enough stops and offensively when we had an opportunity to score touchdowns we have to kick field goals and that was the difference in the game.”
LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier completed a 19-of-28 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.
Nussmeier faced heavy pressure from the Vanderbilt defense. On his second touchdown, he was about to be sacked but managed to get the ball to Zavion Thomas who broke a tackle and raced down the sideline for a 62-yard touchdown.
Nussmeier then hit Trey’Dez Green for the two-point conversion, cutting a 24-14 Vanderbilt lead to 24-21 with 6:52 left in the third quarter.
But the Commodores answered with a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive capped by Pavia’s 21-yard run.
The Tigers were outgained on the ground 239 to 100.
Caden Durham and Harlem Barry led LSU with 59 and 55 yards, respectively. Almost all of Durham’s came on a 51-yard run to the 2. That set up the series that led to Ramos’ short field goal.
Thomas led LSU receivers with 75 yards on four carries thanks mostly to his touchdown. Green had five catches for 74 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown that put LSU on top 10-7 in the first quarter.
LSU reached the Vanderbilt 28, 31 and 25 in the first half. The result was two field goals by Ramos, who also missed one.
The second successful one came after the Tigers sacked Pavia on fourth-and-1 at the Vanderbilt 44.
The Tigers moved to the 23 but a 2-yard loss and two incomplete passes resulted in a 42-yard field goal that got LSU within 14-13.
The Commodores kicked a field goal with 2 seconds left in the half.
LSU hosts Texas A&M next Saturday. The No. 4 Aggies (7-0, 4-0) edged Arkansas 45-42 Saturday.