Saturday's matchup between the No. 10 LSU Tigers and No. 17 Vanderbilt Commodores is shaping up to be a good one. Oddsmakers are favoring the Commodores, but not by much as Clark Lea's team is a slight 2.5-point favorite over the Tigers. This intriguing SEC matchup will be a battle between one of the best offenses in the country and one of the best defenses in the country.
LSU defense vs Vanderbilt offense: Who has the edge?
LSU owns one of the best scoring defenses in all of college football. Through six games, LSU ranks 5th in the country allowing just 11.8 points per game. They also rank 4th in the country with a stop rate of 80% and is allowing just 1.11 points per drive to its opponents. Even in their worst game of the season against Ole Miss, Blake Baker's defense kept the Tigers in it by allowing just seven points in the second half. Ole Miss entered that Week 5 matchup scoring more than 44 points per game, and LSU held the Rebels to 24.
Another strong defensive effort is needed on Saturday against a high-flying Vanderbilt offense. Led by QB Diego Pavia, the Vanderbilt offense ranks 7th in the country scoring 43.2 points per game. The Commodores have scored 30+ in all but one game this season, and have scored 44 points or more on four occasions.
However, Vanderbilt played a relatively weak non-conference schedule that has inflated their scoring numbers a bit. In their non-conference slate, the Commodores scored 45 against Charleston Southern, 44 against Virginia Tech, 70 against Georgia State, and 55 against Utah State. That's good for an average of 53.5 points per game against non-SEC teams. That number drops significantly when facing SEC opponents.
In two conference games, Vandy has scored 31 points against South Carolina and just 14 points against Alabama, which equates to an average of 22.5 points per game. It's a small sample size, but it follows a similar theme to what Vandy did last season. In 2024, Vanderbilt averaged 36.3 points per game in the non-conference. That number fell to 21.9 over eight SEC games. LSU held Vanderbilt to 17 points in Baton Rouge in last year's matchup on Nov. 23, and is looking to slow down the Commodores once again this weekend.
The Vanderbilt offense is still plenty dangerous and capable of doing damage, but the LSU defense is playing at an elite level. The Tigers have been one of the best defensive units at generating key stops and preventing long drives. Coming up with key 3rd down stops and preventing big plays from Pavia and the Vandy passing game will play a key role in LSU's path to victory against the Commodores. Kick-off is set for 11:00 a.m. CT on Saturday in Nashville.