It wasn't surprising when Vanderbilt beat Division I-AA Eastern Kentucky last week. The only surprise was the way the players reacted. Instead of celebrating their second win of the season, the Commodores kept it low in the wake of a 19-7 victory.

Maybe it's because the Commodores weren't all that impressed with their performance, or the idea of beating a Division I-AA opponent. Or maybe it's because the Commodores know things will be a lot more difficult when they play at No. 19 LSU on Saturday.

"It's almost a good sign," Vandy coach Bobby Johnson said. "You don't want them to react that way for very long. You want them to appreciate a victory and I think we took care of that once we got into the dressing room.

"I think you also look at it critically and see things that we need to improve on. (The players) could tell that right away. You can't fool them."

The Commodores (2-5, 1-3 SEC) must do a better job of tackling and preventing big plays after allowing 460 yards last week. They also need to do a better job of running the ball, although that's going to be difficult against a rugged LSU defense.

"If you look at them, they are defending national champions and they have a lot of people back," Johnson said.

"Hopefully we can go down there and make them play well. That's what we need to do. We need to force them to play well by playing well ourselves. If we just go down there and mess around and allow them to get away with less than their best effort, it's our fault."

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