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LSU and Texas A&M met in a battle of SEC undefeated teams as the winner would be in first place in the conference. The Tigers had opportunities early to put the game away, but the Aggies stayed around and took advantage of mistakes as A&M got a 35-23 win at home.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
LSU’s offense started strong with an 11-play, 87-yard drive, but a stand from Texas A&M held the Tigers to a 23-yard field goal by Damian Ramos. After a big turnover from the LSU defense, the Tigers found the endzone on a four-play, 21-yard drive that ended with Garrett Nussmeier finding Mason Taylor for a touchdown to go ahead 10-0.
The Aggies would find their way to the scoring column in the closing seconds of the quarter as Baton Rouge native Le’Veon Moss punched it in from seven yards out to make it a 10-7 game after just one quarter in College Station.
In the second quarter, LSU hit an explosive play as Nussmeier found Aaron Anderson over the middle and he beat everyone down the field for a 76-yard touchdown to cap off a three-play, 90-yard scoring drive to make it 17-7. The Tigers had the chance to add more points before the two-minute warning but Ramos missed his second field goal of the night.
In the second half, the Aggies made a switch at quarterback to Marcel Reed, which gave Texas A&M some life. After an ill-advised interception from Nussmeier, A&M found the endzone with an eight-yard touchdown run from Reed. The Tigers then moved down the field, but a botched moment on special teams forced a turnover on downs, leading to a second eight-yard touchdown run from Reed to give Texas A&M their first lead of the night, 21-17.
The wheels started to come off on the final drive of the thrid quarter as Nussmeier threw another interception, giving A&M the ball inside the 30-yard line. The Aggies found the endzone, but the touchdown was negated by targeting on a blindside block by an A&M receiver on Sage Ryan. Reed would find the endzone for his third rushing touchdown to put A&M ahead 28-17 entering the fourth quarter.
LSU went down the field thanks to a few big throws before Nussmeier found the endzone, but a missed two-point try kept it 28-23. Then, Reed and the Aggies offense exploited LSU’s defense for a 55-yard completion, setting up Moss for his second rushing touchdown against his childhood team to take a 35-23 lead with eight minutes to go.
Nussmeier then made another poor decision, throwing his third interception of the night, effectively sealing the game. A&M would add a field goal with 3:44 to go to make it 38-23.
LSU got the ball back with a desperation attempt, but A&M’s pass rush finished it off with a 15-point win over #8 LSU.
BIG NUMBER: 24
LSU had just 24 rushing yards as a team on 23 carries, an average of just one yard per carry in the loss.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Marcel Reed
With A&M struggling and looking for help, they turned to backup quarterback Marcel Reed, who ran for three touchdowns to bring life into the Aggies and lead them to a massive SEC win at home.
UP NEXT: LSU will take their second bye week of the 2024 season before they welcome rival Alabama to Tiger Stadium on November 9. Kickoff time is TBA, but you will hear the action on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette and 104.1 Lake Charles.