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SUNDAY SOAPBOX: Wet and Ugly-- LSU 23, Vandy 9

(image:  LSUSports.net)

To paraphrase Coach Miles himself, it wasn't the prettiest of wins.  But victory is the key point.

It was the offense's turn to underperform as LSU struggled to establish a consistent running attack against Vanderbilt.  The defense, however, played much better football, particularly in the second half. 

The weather clearly impacted the game in the first half, drenching almost the entire second quarter.  With that in mind, it's a good sign that LSU only lost one fumble.  Both teams, however, put the ball on the carpet a few times.  But by the mid-third quarter, even the mist subsided and the field was in remarkably good shape for the amount of rain the stadium got during the day.

Rather than recap (you can get that here), lets laser in on a few positions on both sides of the football.

Bob Wynn's LSU vs. Vandy Blog

Bob has another single-game blog up for Saturday's matchup.  Already some good stuff there.  Go check it out.

Vandy Beats Cocks

Vanderbilt played a good, solid football game tonight and capitalized on an error-plagued South Carolina performance to upset the Ole Ball Coach 24-17.

Thoughts on South Carolina, since LSU plays them later in the year.

1. South Carolina has a stout defense with some real team speed and hard hitting athletes. I was impressed with them in general, although they seemed to sputter in the second half. Basically, Vandy could not sustain long drives but were able to take advantage of short field situations to punch the ball in.

2. South Carolina's offensive line is not going to be able to handle LSU's defense. Period. And they cost South Carolina a lot of yardage in penalties tonight.

3. Chris Smelley is a decent QB but inconsistent. He was lucky to not have more passes picked off. If Vandy had a slightly more talented secondary, Smelley may have given up four picks tonight instead of two. He did make some nice reads and throws and had a very nice run as well.

4. Spurrier has a reputation as a great coach. But I have to say I was surprised at the huge number of mental errors his team made tonight. Some of that is just execution. But for so many errors to happen against Vandy, there has to be blame placed on coaching as well.

Overall - South Carolina has not looked great in their two outings so far. Combine that with Tennessee's incompetence against UCLA, and the SEC East is looking a bit thinner than expected so far this season. But it's early. I guess.