Power ranking the SEC after week 8: 6 - LSU
There have not been a lot of defenses that have been able to stop the Vanderbilt offense this year, but the Tigers, who have been hanging their hat on that unit this year, only forcing one punt the entire day was still unacceptable. Brian Kelly’s team now has their own playoff hopes hanging by a thread as they leave Nashville, which is not something any LSU fan would have expected after the win over Clemson in game one.
There were a few more explosive plays than LSU had been used to putting together on offense in this game, but when it came right down to it, they were unable to put together anything on that side of the ball. Failing to convert in that fourth quarter was the straw that broke the camel’s back in this one.
The scary thing here is that, if it were not for those explosive plays, LSU would have lost by 14 points at the very least. Vandy absolutely ground them down throughout the afternoon, and a hobbled Garrett Nussmeier was running for his life several times.
Things are about to get really uncomfortable in Baton Rouge, for Brian Kelly in particular, if the Tigers end up losing next week to a red-hot Texas A&M team. Conversely, beating the Aggies in Death Valley could give another chance to this Bayou Bengals team when it comes to the postseason.