Tony Thomas
Writer
The Aggies of Texas A&M had not beaten No. 20 LSU in Death Valley since 1994. No. 3 and undefeated Texas A&M jumped out to a quick two-touchdown lead in the first quarter and then dominated the Tigers in the second half.
The Aggies held the Tigers scoreless in the second half until a meaningless late touchdown by LSU made the final score 49-25 in favor of the visitors. Texas A&M is now 8-0 for the first time since 1992. Here are some takeaways from Saturday night under the lights in Death Valley.
The Aggies have many weapons, one of them being quarterback Marcel Reed. Reed accounted for four touchdowns (2 passing, 2 rushing) and 310 total yards. He averaged almost a first down per carry rushing the football (9.3).
In the second quarter, the Tigers’ defense blocked a punt for a safety, intercepted a pass in the endzone to thwart a Texas A&M scoring drive and made another interception at around midfield to stymie yet another Aggies’ drive. LSU took advantage of all the above to take a 18-14 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the LSU defense gave up 35 points. Coming into the game, the Tigers were allowing 14 points per game.
The explosive plays on offense for LSU were few and far between. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier hit Barion Brown for 41 yards that set up a scoring opportunity. Running back Caden Durham reeled off a 28-yard run deep into Aggie territory. All in the first half.
The LSU offensive line gave up seven sacks on the night.
The Tigers could not generate long drives consistently, going just 2-for-13 on 3rd down. In the 3rd quarter after a three and out and down 21-14, LSU special teams gave up a 79-yard punt return by the Aggies’ KC Concepcion to increase their lead over LSU to 28-18.
Aggies defender Cashius Howell was a terror in the first half, sacking Nussmeier twice and posting two tackles for loss. Howell now has 9.5 sacks on the season.
LSU falls to 5-3 on the season, 2-3 in Southeastern Conference play. This game was an exclamation point on a season of what could have been. LSU coach Brian Kelly’s coaching seat now becomes a raging inferno. Coming into the season, this team was to be the most talented of Kelly’s tenure.
Is it coaching or player development, or the lack thereof? Whatever it is, this is not the kind of football that die-hard LSU fans are accustomed to, or will tolerate. The remaining schedule doesn’t help matters: at Alabama (after a bye week), Arkansas, Western Kentucky, at Oklahoma.
It makes you wonder what these favorite sons of LSU are thinking about, because it sure isn’t football.
With the win, the Aggies (8-0) now have a 94 percent chance of making the College Football Playoff.
Tony Thomas
Writer
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