Texas A&M went into Saturday night with nothing to lose, and they played like it. This might as well have been their Super Bowl. Even with the Aggies’ 38-23 win over LSU, their 5 on the season won’t be enough to make them bowl-eligible.
Meanwhile LSU has two games left to play, and a conference title left to decide.
Nothing would go right for the Tigers as they fell behind early as the defense struggled to get off the field in the first half. The Tigers simply had no answer for Aggies running back Devone Achane who went for a career-high 215 yards.
Even when it seemed like LSU had finally turned momentum, tied at 17 with the ball, QB Jayden Daniels fumbled for a scoop and score. It was only Daniels’ 4th turnover of the season.
We’ll look back at everything that went wrong in College Station in this week’s good, bad and ugly.
THE GOOD: John Emery Jr:
Last week Emery was in our bad section, but he bounced back in a big way this week, accounting for all three of the Tigers’ touchdowns. The Destrehan running back finished the game with an economical 55 yards rushing on 9 carries.
It was the only real bright spot of the game. The passing attack really didn’t threaten the Aggies defense at all. LSU now has back to back games with a running back scoring three touchdowns. Josh Williams didn’t see the field in this game, but should be able to return next week against Georgia.
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THE BAD: LSU defense
The Tigers defense struggled mightily in the first half. A&M controlled the clock and scored on all three of their possessions. Texas A&M’s opening drive set the tone, going 90 yards on 15 plays, with seven first downs collected.
A&M freshman QB Conner Weigman was effective as a passer, and also used his legs to pick up first downs in critical moments. The Aggies converted 7-of-8 third downs faced in the first half.
Achane averaged 5.7 yards per carry on the night and more importantly continued to pick up first downs throughout the night for his offense. He crossed the 200-yard threshold during the Aggies’ final drive as they salted out the clock with little resistance from the Tigers.
Freshman phenom Harold Perkins was quiet most of the night as the Aggies rushing attack neutralized the LSU pass rush. LSU defensive coordinator Matt House will have his hands full next week as Georgia will try to use a similar gameplan in the SEC Championship.
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THE UGLY: Kyren Lacy
There’s never a good time for your worst performance of the season, but Lacy sure did pick the worst time.
Lacy had a pair of drops early, both of which came on critical third downs in the first half. On the first drive the Tigers got to midfield before a dropped pass ended the possession. The second came at a more crucial time as LSU was driving to take its first lead of the game. Lacy’s drop on 3rd and 2 inside the A&M 20 forced a drive to end in 3 points instead of 7.
To make matters worse, Lacy was injured in the third quarter to end his night early. It could have been even uglier. Jayden Daniels went down with injuries twice in the fourth quarter, with head coach Brian Kelly saying it was an ankle issue. His status will be one to watch heading into the SEC title game.
The loss effectively ends the Tigers’ run toward the College Football Playoff, but it doesn’t end their season. A win over Georgia would mean an SEC title – nothing to scoff at – and a big to the Sugar Bowl for the first time since 2007.
A Tigers loss next week will give LSU a 9-4 season in coach Brian Kelly’s debut, and they’d likely land in the Citrus Bowl, or January 2 bowl game.
Either way, it’ll be fun. But it won’t be the CFP.