Upon Further Review: Vanderbilt 31, LSU 24

The final word on Vanderbilt’s massive win against LSU, plus 10 things you may not have noticed.

Oct 18, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores running back Makhilyn Young (22) celebrates the first down against the Louisiana State Tigers during the second half at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

NASHVILLE. – Vanderbilt bounced back in a big way Saturday with a 31-24 win over No. 10 LSU.

Who would have thought at the start of the season that the Commodores would now be involved in serious postseason conversations as the college football season hits the back end of October.

It was an impressive game by the Vanderbilt run game. The coaching staff has always preached a “run to win” mentality and it certainly showed over the weekend. The Commodores ran wild over the Tigers with over 200 yards in the rushing attack. Diego Pavia, while his stats did not look stellar from the box score, played great. His ability to evade sacks, get out of the pocket and make plays proved huge in the outcome of the game.

Defensively, Vanderbilt exhibited a “bend, don’t break” attitude. While LSU was able to move the ball and score at times, it was the Commodore defense that stood tall when needed most. Holding LSU to field goals in crucial moments of the games, including the first possession of the game helped contribute to Vanderbilt’s victory.

After a historic win, here is the play of the game, player of the game and stat of the game for Vanderbilt and 10 things you may not have noticed from the game.

Play of the Game: Has to be Diego Pavia’s 4th-and-1 conversion to MK Young. With the ball close to midfield, Vanderbilt ran a play on 4th down. Pavia dropped back to pass, had LSU defenders in his face, spun out of the crowd and delivered a pass to Young, who got the first down and then some. Vanderbilt ended up scoring a touchdown on that drive.

Player of the Game: Pavia is certainly up there, but I’m going to give it to Cole Spence. The tight end has had a role as a blocking tight end for the majority of his time on the team, but today he was exceptional in the receiving game. He led the team in receptions and yards with five catches for 56 yards and a touchdown.

Stat of the Game: Vanderbilt capitalized in the red zone. The Commodores scored three touchdowns in the red zone that resulted in 21 of their points in the game while LSU only scored three points in the red zone.

10 things you may not have noticed

1.Running to Victory: Vanderbilt’s run game was phenomenal all day. It was a game where it had to get going for the Commodores to score on the LSU defense, and it got going in a massive way. Vanderbilt ran for 239 yards as a team. 175 of those yards came in the second half.

2. Red Zone: The red zone was a big factor coming in. Not only did Vanderbilt do a good job keeping LSU out of the red zone, but the only time the Tigers made it there they could only come up with a field goal. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt scored 21 inside the LSU 20-yard line. A huge swing in points there.

3. Time of Possession: This felt like a game where Vanderbilt needed to use its offense to also kill clock and keep Garrett Nussmeier off the field. And that is exactly what happened. Vanderbilt dominated time of possession, holding the ball for 36:33 to 23:27 for LSU.

4. A Historic Victory: No players on this Vanderbilt roster were even born the last time it beat LSU in football. The Commodores win was the first time since 1990 that they beat LSU on the gridiron. Another data point when looking at Clark Lea’s transformation for this Vanderbilt program.

5. Big Runs: Vanderbilt had seven different runs go for at least 10 yards. None was bigger than MK Young’s 43-yard scamper that essentially ended the game and put Vanderbilt into a position to go in victory formation.

6. Not a Lot of Long Passes, But It's Okay: Pavia only completed four passes that went for more than 15 yards, but it does not matter. Pavia performed exceptionally well and managed the game even better.

7. Gutsy Calls: Vanderbilt went for it three different times on fourth down. The first was a 4th and goal on the 1-yard line that was kept for a Pavia touchdown. The other conversion was Pavia’s magical escape and pass to MK Young, which resulted in another Vanderbilt touchdown shortly after.

8. Clutch Defense: LSU had its chances to come back and tie or win the game in the fourth quarter, but the Vanderbilt defense came up clutch, holding LSU to just 1-for-4 on third downs in the final quarter.

9.Tight Ends Day: Tight ends Cole Spence and Eli Stowers led the way in receptions and receiving yards. The two combined for over half of the total receiving yards with 56 and 32, respectively.

10. Postseason Conversation: Vanderbilt’s win has to involve them in the playoff conversation. If it finishes the season winning four of the last five games, the Commodores should be in the playoff. You have to start to think about what if they do go 10-2 this year.