LSU football opened the 2020 season with a 44-34 loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs, falling to the No. 20 overall spot in the rankings.
This week, the team travels to Nashville, Tennessee to face the Vanderbilt Commodores as both squads aim to get their first win of the season. The Tigers opened as 20.5-point favorites, but have some serious fixing to do on both sides of the ball to avoid an upset by a Commodores team that came within just five points of the Texas A&M Aggies last week.
Here’s a look at what some of the experts are projecting for the outcome of Saturday’s game:
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Pete Fiutak, College Football News
This still isn’t going to be the 2019 LSU team running out of the tunnel, but it’s going to be a whole lot better overall than it looked against Mississippi State.
The Mike Leach offense took LSU out of its game. It turned into a track meet, and the Tigers had to try to keep up. This will be a whole lot different of a game without any real worries over Vanderbilt big offensive plays.
This will be LSU’s game throughout, but the Commodore D will keep this from getting brutal.
Barrett Sallee, CBS Sports
Poor Vandy. It has to go out and face an angry Tigers team that is dejected and desperate. Have fun with that. I’m not the biggest fan of Tigers quarterback Myles Brennan after what we saw against Mississippi State, but a road trip to face Vanderbilt cures his ills. Expect the Tigers to keep it simple, find some things that click within the offense and keep the starters in later than they normally would against lesser teams. Pick: LSU (-20.5)
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Staff Picks, Athlon Sports
Steven Lassan: LSU
Mark Ross: LSU
Ben Weinrib: LSU
LSU and Vanderbilt are set to kick off at 6:30 p.m. CST on Saturday in Vanderbilt Stadium.
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