LSU is still going to the SEC Championship game in a week, but it sure feels different after an all-time stumble against Texas A&M.
The No. 5 Tigers fell 38-23, almost certainly eliminating them from CFP contention even with a major upset for the SEC title. Ouch.
With that in mind, here are my three biggest takeaways from a disappointing night in College Station.
THIS TEAM DIDN'T SWEAT, UNTIL...
One fun fact about cats: They physically can't sweat, it's just not in their DNA. You could've said the same thing about the 2022 LSU Tigers, channeling their inner cat.
Whether at the Caesars Superdome, Tiger Stadium, Jordan-Hare Stadium or The Swamp, this team had the answer for every test. They'd been forced to dig out of holes no matter what the predicament, and they did it calmly outside of one failed PAT.
That could've continued at Kyle Field, even after a surprisingly effective Texas A&M offense pinned the Aggies to a 17-10 halftime lead. Even after an ultra-rare Jayden Daniels fumble was scooped and run in for a touchdown that pinned A&M to a 24-17 lead midway through the third quarter. It didn't.
The rally Tigers had been happening all season. But with a massive opportunity looming ahead with an SEC Championship appearance already confirmed, they couldn't find one final rally. The defense couldn't lock down, the offense couldn't execute, Jayden Daniels took a shot and walked off injured early in the 4th quarter, he looked to be feeling it again after a touchdown on the next possession. The Tigers lost to a team that had lost six of its seven SEC games. That's a painful way for the end of this season to end.
Can this year's team plow through Georgia just like the 2019 squad did? It's not impossible. Unfortunately there's no College Football Playoff bid looming if they do. That hope is gone now. The peak of this season will be an SEC Championship. It'd be disappointing, but no more disappointing than what the team failed to do Saturday night in College Station.
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GIVE THE AGGIES SOME CREDIT
It'd be easy to criticize this LSU team for falling into a "trap game." But I'm not sure that's exactly what happened.
The Tigers got outplayed. And the team that outplayed them was a Texas A&M squad that ... should have outplaying opponents all season. They were a preseason top-10 team for a reason. The talent is there.
In today's "transfer first and ask questions later" college football landscape, the ability to keep a team intact throughout a losing season is a credit to a coach and team. That Aggies squad is a good one. Devon Achane had the game of his life. They had a bad season, the talent is clearly still there. It's exactly what Brian Kelly preached throughout the week for LSU to be wary of.
LSU's defense didn't suddenly lose its ability, the Texas A&M offense beat them early and often. As it has all season, the Tigers made adjustments and clamped down a bit to start the second half. This game was tied 17-17 before Daniels' fumble. But the Aggies offense always had the answer.
So, I won't pin a trap game on this result. It was a high-quality SEC football team beating another high-quality SEC team. Despite how this season began, LSU went from hunter to hunted. That means you get everybody's best game, and occasionally another team's best is enough to beat you when you're not at yours. Unfortunately LSU had to find that out at the absolute worst possible time.
The good news? The "hunted" stuff is over, with Georgia on deck. The Tigers are back on the hunt.
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BE HAPPY FOR JOHN EMERY
The regular season is over. John Emery Jr.'s college career isn't over yet, but it truly is nice to have watched it finally get started this season.
Remember, this kid wasn't just a highly touted player as he arrived on campus, he was an elite, 5-star prospect ... the 2nd-highest-rated RB prospect that's ever committed to LSU behind only Leonard Fournette.
With Josh Williams still ailing, Emery was featured yet again, and he delivered for 3 touchdowns on nine carries. It hasn't been the scintillating college career he or LSU fans probably imagined. He was a failure to launch for the entirety of the 2021 season due to academic issues. He missed the first two games of the 2022 season with more issues. No such issues the rest of the way, just consistent football.
The kid's dealt with a lot. He put down an impressive season in his role, and stepped up when LSU needed it most (even if it wasn't enough). Good for him.
LAGNIAPPE
Harold Perkins seemed absent in this one. I don't know if the injury he left the field with in the first half played a role, but there just wasn't a lot of defensive play-making in this game, and that's been his role seemingly every week. ... The penalties were brutal in this game. LSU was flagged 5 times for 42 yards. And to add insult to injury, a pretty clear defensive pass interference flag was picked up late in the first half for no clear reason. Woof. ... Devon Achane's 215 rushing yards were the most allowed by the Tigers to a single opponent this season. ... Yes, Moose Muhammad is the son of former NFL star Muhsin Muhammad. ... After LSU's touchdown to cut the Aggies' lead to 38-23, Brian Kelly called for a 2-point play. But why? LSU would've needed two touchdowns either way. Was it really worth the risk of needing to score three times to ensure that if you DID score two more TDs you'd at least be guaranteed to be tied? I guess it was more an indicator that Brian Kelly was going to be going for 2 in that situation. I just think the reward well outweighed the risk. ... Jaray Jenkins caught that ball, I don't care what the refs said. The fact that we can't differentiate between a player dropping a ball and a player catching a ball with two feet down, getting pushed out of bounds and stumbling two steps before letting go of the ball before you hit the ground is really darn annoying.