LSU RB Keiland Williams scored twice, leading LSU past Vanderbilt 23-9.

Mother Nature probably made the biggest impact in Saturday night’s LSU vs. Vandy game. The rain in Baton Rouge certainly made passing and holding onto the football much tougher. There were 5 fumbles, including one resulting in a safety. The passing game on both sides became very conservative.

Weather aside, LSU played fine. On the offensive side of the ball, LSU played better than the final score indicated. They averaged 4.9 yards per rush and spread the ball around to several different players on the ground. Keiland Williams was the game’s MVP, scoring two Touchdowns on 10 rushes for 72 yards. Charles Scott struggled with a 3.8 YPC, but picked up some key first downs.

The passing game was limited, but serviceable. LSU has called a bunch of Wide Receiver bubble screens that weren’t too effective. Jefferson played well in the conditions, including two big passes on the final drive before half, completing a 29 yard pass to RJ Jackson and a 20 yard pass to Brandon LaFell to set up a FG before the end of the half.

The final aspect of the offense was the debut of freshman stud Russell Sheppard. Sheppard lined up at QB for a few plays and receiver for a few others. Sheppard showed his athleticism and lightening fast speed. At QB he had three rushes for 27 yards, but fumbled his one catch at receiver. This isn’t a surprising move by Coach Les Miles to shuffle several players in and out. I expect Sheppard to get more snaps, and play a role similar to Ryan Perriloux, in 2007. That role is run a wildcat based offense and lineup occasionally at Wide Receiver to get him more comfortable in the offense.

Defense, as a whole, was much improved in the second game. They stopped the pass very well, limiting Vandy QB Larry Smith to a 45.8 comp pct, 88yards through the air, including a huge interception by Brandon Taylor at the LSU 23 in the 4th. The Vanderbilt running game was slightly more effective, but on their lone scoring drive, Running Back Zac Stacy had a 26 yard run on a 3rd and 1, and Smith scored a rushing TD, after fumbling the football. Outside of Vandy’s one scoring drive, their offense was limited

Interesting note, Les Miles, known for being an aggressive on offense, opted to kick three field goals inside the Vandy’s 20 yard line, instead of try to convert two short 4th downs.

LSU didn’t blow out the game, but grinded it out in the less than ideal conditions in Baton Rouge. Up next Louisiana-Lafayette next Saturday at 6PM CST.

A couple of injury notes.
• Vanderbilt Tackle James Williams broke his right ankle on a scary play
• LSU’s Richard Murphy could miss the next two games with an undisclosed injury