Vanderbilt Football is coming off its bye week with a challenge looming ahead: a primetime matchup in Death Valley in front of over 100,000 fans. In their toughest away environment this season to date, the Commodores will look to prevail and hand LSU its fourth-straight loss. Both teams are looking to regain momentum, though, after disappointing losses against South Carolina and Florida in their last games out. 

The Hustler went behind enemy bylines to interview Jason Willis, Sports Editor at The Reveille, to learn more about the Tigers and talk about some keys for the Nov. 23 game.

Vanderbilt Hustler: What went wrong for the Tigers in the loss to Florida?

Jason Willis: LSU out-possessed Florida by a lot in terms of time [of] possession, [and also had more] first downs and yardage. It clearly had that edge, but the real issue offensively was finishing drives. The Tigers settled for several field goals, and that’s been an issue for most of the season. I found a stat the other week that, since halftime at the Texas A&M game, they’ve had 15 drives that crossed over into opponent territory and only [scored] four touchdowns — obviously a horrible percentage. Offensively at Florida, [LSU] really had no trouble sustaining long drives — [it] just [had problems] finishing them off. Defensively, LSU was giving up big plays. The defense played well for the first half — the first three quarters, even — and then toward the end it was too much to win the game for the team. 

VH: The Gators outperformed LSU, especially in the second half; this is also its third loss in a row. What needs to be done for LSU to regain that momentum, especially in the second half?

JW: It’s tough to put a real diagnosis on [that loss] because it’s the same sort of thing every week. Regaining that momentum at this point is just playing for pride and finishing out the season with a respectable nine wins. It really just comes down to what [head coach Brian] Kelly said the other day — putting guys on the field who are going to fight and play with pride. They’re claiming that they’re going to be intentional about who they’re putting on the field going forward, in terms of who has the right attitude about it, isn’t sulking and truly wants to win — even if it doesn’t mean they’re going to the College Football Playoff. 

VH: Vanderbilt’s shown to have a pretty fiery offense this season. What needs to change for LSU to succeed defensively this weekend?

JW: Big play prevention — all levels of the defense need to know their assignment. If the offense shifts, then they should already know what changes about their assignments. That kind of chemistry to know ‘What’s my job in every situation?’ and ‘What’s his job in every situation?’ has been missing with the defense at times. 

Then [offensively] there’s the passing game. LSU’s quarterbacks have had some high moments, but they just need to get back to the fundamentals, which really is what they’ve been struggling with. I would not put LSU’s recent struggles on [its] defense, even though the defense in the run game has been horrendous recently. I would say the offense is the one that has surprised me more with how it’s become so much less efficient. I think everyone expected — after what happened last year — that LSU’s offense would once again be Kelly’s calling card, and that [has not been] the case.

VH: Are there any impact players offensively or defensively that Vanderbilt should watch out for?

JW: He may not be the star of LSU’s offense, but freshman running back Caden Durham. He started the season buried in the depth chart, and LSU had a lot of trouble running the ball. So they’ve gone through a lot of options, and Durham has by far been the most effective rusher. He was good against Florida, really good against Arkansas and South Carolina — he’s had some breakout games. If LSU has a good performance against Vanderbilt, it’ll probably be because Durham has another solid game. 

And then — [and] he’s probably not getting as much talk as he should — Bradyn Swinson. He’s an edge rusher, and this is his second year with us after transferring from Oregon. He’s top five in the SEC in sacks, and he’s been really disruptive off the edge. He has prototypical size, and he technically plays what’s called the “Jack” position, which means he’s not putting his hand down the ground [at the line of scrimmage]. So, every now and then he’s popping out in pass coverage. He’s just a really versatile defender, and probably the best one [The Tigers] have.

VH: Do you have a score prediction?

JW: I’m going to go 24-20, Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt will travel to Baton Rouge to play LSU on Nov. 23 at 6:45 p.m. CST.