Nashville, TN – Vanderbilt Stadium was filled with purple and gold on Saturday.
A scene reminiscent of an invasion rather than a football game. Fans from Baton Rouge and other areas flocked to Nashville to watch No. 4 LSU defeat the Commodores 66-38. It was the Tigers’ first road trip to Vanderbilt since 2010 and the first trip to Nashville since a loss in the Music City Bowl to Notre Dame in 2014.
Vanderbilt gave LSU’s athletic department 6,000 tickets to sell, but fans bought tickets in droves either directly through Vanderbilt or on the secondary ticket market.
The wave of purple and gold behind the LSU sideline even wowed members of LSU’s administration, who estimated around 20,000 fans traveled up I-55 and I-59 toward Nashville. The official attendance number released by Vanderbilt was 32,048, and the vast majority looked to be wearing purple.
“Seemed like 31,000 [LSU fans] for sure,” said LSU coach Ed Orgeron said. “I was so happy when we came through our Tiger Walk on the road. The guys were waiting for us. It meant a lot for us, and when they started chanting LSU it seemed like we took over their stadium. I was proud of our fan base. I’m glad they showed up for us today.”
Junior safety JaCoby Stevens, who is from the Nashville area, said he was able to hear family members and other fans shouting his name throughout the game, and senior quarterback Joe Burrow came in with a more conservative estimate than Orgeron and guessed there was around 25,000 LSU fans.
“That was crazy to see,” Burrow said. “Usually in conference away games they don’t give us that many tickets. I don’t know how they got them, but I was happy to see them show up. That was crazy.”