re: Official LSU-Vanderbilt prediction thread

) I expect that LSU will play better on both sides of the ball, not sure how much better on defense. It will be a while before I make a real call on whether the defense is really going to be as good as pre-08, but I know it won't be as bad as it was last Saturday night. The offense will be 2nd in the SEC with a very slim possibility of being the best in the conference by season's end. This won't show up in the stats due to UF's easier schedule, regardless.

2) My early impression of Washington is that they have a much better offense than does Vandy. You can cut the yards allowed and probably the score in half even if LSU's defense plays similarly to the way it did against the Dub.

3) This one is at home for LSU, no flight out to the West cost in front of a tough away crowd. I think the atmosphere at UW caught the players, and maybe even the coaches, off guard. The home fans will be pumped for the home opener and ready to see some fireworks after the last game.

4) The Tigers will be blood thirsty. Even though you won't read it anywhere, the LSU players and Coaches are embarrassed about the last performance. I think they expected to be able to win that game by 3 TDs without having to show much and get guys like Randle and Shep some playing time. Instead, they chose not to show anything, despite the early struggles, and won by 8.

Given all of that, my prediction is LSU 35 Vandy 10. It won't surprise me, however, if LSU wins by 7-10 more than that.