Vanderbilt Holds Off LSU Rally, Wins 31-24
Vanderbilt defeated LSU 31-24 in Week 8, with the Commodores' defense delivering crucial stops late to preserve the victory. The game featured 10 lead changes and remained competitive throughout, with neither team able to pull away decisively.
LSU's Garrett Nussmeier led the Tigers' passing attack with 225 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown pass to Zavion Thomas in the third quarter. Thomas led all receivers with 75 receiving yards. Despite the offensive contributions, LSU scored only 3 points in the fourth quarter, allowing Vanderbilt to hold on.
Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia rushed for 86 yards to lead the ground game, while the Commodores' defense recorded high-impact plays in the second and third quarters that proved pivotal. The home team dominated the third quarter with 14 points and held LSU scoreless in the fourth to secure the win.
The final score of 31-24 exceeded the over-under of 48 points. Vanderbilt covered the 1.5-point spread as the home favorite.
AI-generated recap · Aug 8, 2026
| Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 LSU | 3 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 24 |
 Vanderbilt | 7 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 31 |
Scoring Timeline
Drive Chart
Box Score
| Statistic | LSU | Vanderbilt |
|---|---|---|
| Passing | 19-28 | 14-22 |
| Pass Yards | 225 | 160 |
| Rush Yards | 100 | 239 |
| Total Yards | 325 | 399 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 0 |
| 3rd Down | 5-11 | 6-13 |
| Penalties | 7-52 | 4-35 |
| Possession | 23:29 | 36:31 |
Player Leaders
Player Leaders
Play-by-Play
Caden Durham run for no gain to the LSU 25
Garrett Nussmeier pass complete to Barion Brown for 4 yds to the LSU 29
Garrett Nussmeier pass complete to Kyle Parker for 11 yds to the LSU 40 for a 1ST down
Garrett Nussmeier pass complete to Barion Brown for 2 yds to the LSU 42
Garrett Nussmeier pass complete to Barion Brown for 12 yds to the VAN 46 for a 1ST down
Garrett Nussmeier pass complete to Barion Brown for 6 yds to the VAN 40
Caden Durham run for 3 yds to the VAN 37
Harlem Berry run for 9 yds to the VAN 28 for a 1ST down
Garrett Nussmeier sacked by Keanu Koht for a loss of 3 yards to the VAN 31
Garrett Nussmeier pass incomplete to Zavion Thomas
Garrett Nussmeier pass incomplete to Trey'Dez Green
Damian Ramos 48 yd FG GOOD
Aeron Burrell kickoff for 65 yds , Tre Richardson return for 43 yds to the VAN 43
Sedrick Alexander run for 1 yd to the VAN 44
Diego Pavia pass complete to Eli Stowers for 5 yds to the VAN 49
Diego Pavia pass complete to Cole Spence for 19 yds to the LSU 32 for a 1ST down
Kayleb Barnett run for 4 yds to the LSU 28
Sedrick Alexander run for a loss of 2 yards to the LSU 30
Diego Pavia pass complete to Eli Stowers for 14 yds to the LSU 16 for a 1ST down
Sedrick Alexander run for no gain to the LSU 16
Vanderbilt Penalty, False Start (Bryce Henderson) to the LSU 21
Diego Pavia run for 20 yds to the LSU 1 for a 1ST down
LSU Penalty, Defensive Offside (Jacobian Guillory II) to the LSU 1
Diego Pavia run for 1 yd for a TD (Brock Taylor KICK)
Garrett Nussmeier pass complete to Ju'Juan Johnson for 5 yds to the LSU 30 LSU Penalty, Offensive Holding (Bauer Sharp) to the LSU 20
Harlem Berry run for 3 yds to the LSU 23
Garrett Nussmeier pass complete to Caden Durham for 2 yds to the LSU 25
Garrett Nussmeier pass complete to Barion Brown for 16 yds to the LSU 41 for a 1ST down
Harlem Berry run for 9 yds to the 50 yard line
Nussmeier, Garrett pass incomplete to Brown, Barion, PENALTY VAN pass interference (Brown, Tristen) 15 yards to the VAN35, NO PLAY, 1ST DOWN LSU.
Harlem Berry run for 1 yd to the VAN 34
Harlem Berry run for 10 yds to the VAN 24 for a 1ST down
Garrett Nussmeier pass complete to Trey'Dez Green for 24 yds for a TD (Damian Ramos KICK)
Sedrick Alexander run for 12 yds to the VAN 37 for a 1ST down
Diego Pavia pass incomplete
Makhilyn Young run for 4 yds to the VAN 41
Diego Pavia run for 7 yds to the VAN 48 for a 1ST down
Sedrick Alexander run for 2 yds to the 50 yard line
Diego Pavia pass complete to Eli Stowers for 13 yds to the LSU 37 for a 1ST down
Diego Pavia run for 6 yds to the LSU 31
Sedrick Alexander run for 4 yds to the LSU 27 for a 1ST down
Sedrick Alexander run for 2 yds to the LSU 25
Diego Pavia pass complete to Cole Spence for 21 yds to the LSU 4 for a 1ST down
AJ Newberry run for 1 yd to the LSU 3
Diego Pavia run for 2 yds to the LSU 1
Diego Pavia run for no gain to the LSU 1
Sedrick Alexander run for 1 yd for a TD (Brock Taylor KICK)
Harlem Berry run for 9 yds to the LSU 44
Garrett Nussmeier pass complete to Nic Anderson for no gain to the LSU 44
Garrett Nussmeier pass complete to Trey'Dez Green for 19 yds to the VAN 37 for a 1ST down
Garrett Nussmeier pass complete to Trey'Dez Green for 6 yds to the VAN 31
LSU Penalty, Illegal Formation (DJ Chester) to the VAN 36
Harlem Berry run for 1 yd to the VAN 35
Garrett Nussmeier pass incomplete to Nic Anderson
Damian Ramos 52 yd FG MISSED
Diego Pavia pass incomplete to Kayleb Barnett
Sedrick Alexander run for a loss of 2 yards to the VAN 33
Diego Pavia pass complete to Sedrick Alexander for 11 yds to the VAN 44
Diego Pavia sacked by West Weeks for a loss of 8 yards to the VAN 36
Caden Durham run for 2 yds to the VAN 34
Garrett Nussmeier pass complete to Zavion Thomas for 11 yds to the VAN 23 for a 1ST down
Caden Durham run for a loss of 2 yards to the VAN 25
Garrett Nussmeier pass incomplete to Zavion Thomas
Garrett Nussmeier pass incomplete
Damian Ramos 42 yd FG GOOD
Aeron Burrell kickoff for 59 yds , Tre Richardson return for 16 yds to the VAN 22
Diego Pavia pass complete to Junior Sherrill for 25 yds to the VAN 47 for a 1ST down
Diego Pavia pass incomplete to Tre Richardson
Diego Pavia pass complete to Richie Hoskins for 16 yds to the LSU 37 for a 1ST down
Diego Pavia pass incomplete
Diego Pavia run for 9 yds to the LSU 28
Diego Pavia pass incomplete to Eli Stowers
Brock Taylor 46 yd FG GOOD
End of 2nd Quarter
Sedrick Alexander run for 8 yds to the VAN 33
Tre Richardson run for 12 yds to the VAN 45 for a 1ST down
Diego Pavia pass incomplete to Tre Richardson
Diego Pavia pass complete to Cole Spence for 8 yds to the LSU 47
Makhilyn Young run for 28 yds to the LSU 19 for a 1ST down
Tre Richardson run for 8 yds to the LSU 11
Sedrick Alexander run for 3 yds to the LSU 8 for a 1ST down
Sedrick Alexander run for 4 yds to the LSU 4
Diego Pavia run for 3 yds to the LSU 1
Diego Pavia pass complete to Cole Spence for 1 yd for a TD (Brock Taylor KICK)
Justin Dewers kickoff for 65 yds , Barion Brown return for 16 yds to the LSU 49 LSU Penalty, Offensive Holding (8 Yards) to the LSU 8
Garrett Nussmeier pass complete to Trey'Dez Green for 12 yds to the LSU 20 for a 1ST down
Harlem Berry run for no gain to the LSU 20
Garrett Nussmeier pass complete to Aaron Anderson for 18 yds to the LSU 38 for a 1ST down
Garrett Nussmeier pass incomplete to Barion Brown
Garrett Nussmeier pass complete to Zavion Thomas for 62 yds for a TD (Garrett Nussmeier pass to Trey'Dez Green for Two-Point Conversion)
Sedrick Alexander run for 9 yds to the VAN 34
Makhilyn Young run for 3 yds to the VAN 37 for a 1ST down
Makhilyn Young run for 1 yd to the VAN 38
Diego Pavia run for 8 yds to the VAN 46
Diego Pavia pass incomplete to Eli Stowers
Diego Pavia pass complete to Makhilyn Young for 10 yds to the LSU 44 for a 1ST down
AJ Newberry run for 2 yds to the LSU 42
Vanderbilt Penalty, False Start (Chase Mitchell) to the LSU 47
Pavia, Diego pass incomplete to Hoskins, Richie, PENALTY LSU pass interference (Spears, Dashawn) 15 yards to the LSU32, NO PLAY, 1ST DOWN VAN.
Makhilyn Young run for 6 yds to the LSU 26
Diego Pavia pass complete to Junior Sherrill for 5 yds to the LSU 21 for a 1ST down
Diego Pavia run for 21 yds for a TD (Brock Taylor KICK)
Harlem Berry run for 5 yds to the LSU 30
Garrett Nussmeier pass complete to Trey'Dez Green for 13 yds to the LSU 43 for a 1ST down
Caden Durham run for 4 yds to the LSU 47
Garrett Nussmeier pass incomplete to Barion Brown
Caden Durham run for 51 yds to the VAN 2 for a 1ST down
Caden Durham run for 1 yd to the VAN 1
LSU Penalty, False Start (Donovan Green) to the VAN 5
Ju'Juan Johnson run for a loss of 1 yard to the VAN 6
Garrett Nussmeier pass incomplete to Kyle Parker
Damian Ramos 23 yd FG GOOD
Tre Richardson run for 2 yds to the VAN 27 Vanderbilt Penalty, Offensive Holding (Bryce Henderson) to the VAN 17
Diego Pavia run for 5 yds to the VAN 22
Diego Pavia run for 1 yd to the VAN 23
Diego Pavia pass complete to Sedrick Alexander for 5 yds to the VAN 28
Nick Haberer punt for 42 yds, fair catch by Zavion Thomas at the LSU 30
Garrett Nussmeier sacked by Zaylin Wood for a loss of 10 yards to the LSU 20
Harlem Berry run for 4 yds to the LSU 24
LSU Penalty, Offensive Holding (Weston Davis) to the LSU 14
Harlem Berry run for 4 yds to the LSU 18
Grant Chadwick punt for 39 yds, fair catch by Martel Hight at the VAN 43
Diego Pavia run for a loss of 3 yards to the VAN 40
Diego Pavia pass complete to Cole Spence for 7 yds to the VAN 47
Diego Pavia pass incomplete to Tre Richardson
Nick Haberer punt for 53 yds for a touchback
Garrett Nussmeier pass complete to Ju'Juan Johnson for a loss of 3 yards to the LSU 17
Garrett Nussmeier pass complete to Zavion Thomas for 5 yds to the LSU 22
Garrett Nussmeier pass incomplete to Barion Brown
Grant Chadwick punt for 53 yds , Martel Hight returns for 17 yds to the VAN 42
Makhilyn Young run for 43 yds to the LSU 15 for a 1ST down
Diego Pavia run for no gain to the LSU 15
Diego Pavia run for 3 yds to the LSU 12
Diego Pavia run for 11 yds to the LSU 1 for a 1ST down
TEAM run for a loss of 1 yard to the LSU 2
TEAM run for a loss of 1 yard to the LSU 3
TEAM run for a loss of 1 yard to the LSU 4