NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The LSU defense held up its end of the bargain on the second Saturday of the season.
LSU (2-0, 1-0) shut the door on Vanderbilt’s offense, holding the Commodores to 135 total yards and eight first downs, to clinch a 27-3 victory in Nashville, Tenn.
Senior defensive tackle Drake Nevis led the charge with five tackles and two and a half sacks.
“We have a great leader in Drake Nevis that is pushing everybody to do the best that they can do,” said LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis. “He is setting the tempo for us.”
The now-No. 15 Tigers took a significant jump in the polls Sunday, rising as high as No. 12 in the USA Today Coaches Poll after a tumultuous day for the Atlantic Coast Conference saw ranked teams Miami, Florida State, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech fall.
The Tigers’ defense limited Vanderbilt (0-2, 0-1) to 2.8 yards per play, forcing the Commodores to punt 10 times.
“Those guys put on a strong and stout performance tonight,” said junior cornerback Patrick Peterson. “Those guys created so much pressure and so much heat on the quarterback.”
Vanderbilt’s offense recorded 240 passing yards in its opener against Northwestern last weekend, but the Tigers put the clamped down on the Commodores’ attack, only allowing 70 yards through the air.
“Last week [North Carolina senior quarterback] T.J. Yates had a career night on us,” said senior linebacker Kelvin Sheppard. “Coming out tonight we had to face a great quarterback in Larry Smith, and he did a great job, but our [defensive] line was just all over him.”
Sheppard had a game-high nine tackles and shared a sack with Nevis.
“Offensively, we’ve got to go back to the drawing board,” said first-year Vanderbilt coach Robbie Caldwell. “Hats off to LSU. They kicked us.”
LSU’s offense mirrored Vanderbilt’s stagnant efforts through three quarters, only scoring 10 points, but the Tigers made up for lost time in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers pulled away from the Commodores through the running game, recording two touchdowns and 150 yards on the ground and scoring 17 points in the quarter.
LSU’s offensive line only gave up one sack and paved the way for seven different players to earn rushing yards.
Junior running back Stevan Ridley found 159 yards of running room behind the offensive line, and the Natchez, Miss., native busted a 65-yard touchdown haul in the fourth quarter.
“I’m glad that Ridley came back and ran hard after turning the ball over twice the week before,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “He just put it to himself, and that’s just what he needed to do.”
Junior quarterback Jordan Jefferson’s night wasn’t as glorious.
Jefferson threw an interception and was 8-of-20 for 96 passing yards, tying his career-low for yards through the air from last season’s game against Florida.
The 6-foot-5-inch, 224-pound quarterback had five more rushes than completions, and those 13 runs only garnered 13 yards.
“Our quarterback’s got to play better,” Miles said. “We’re going to expect more out of the position. He didn’t play as well as he’s capable tonight.”
Jefferson hooked up with sophomore wide receiver Russell Shepard for two passes, but Shepard’s main contributions came on the ground.
The Houston, Texas, native put the first points on the board for the second game in a row with a 30-yard run with 14:20 remaining in the second quarter.
Junior quarterback Jarrett Lee, another player from the Lone Star State, saw time in a fourth quarter series in mop-up duty.
Miles said Lee is progressing under center and continues to progress in practice.
“He deserves to compete in this process,” Miles said. “We’ll continue to evaluate the quarterbacks.”
 
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Contact Michael Lambert at [email protected]