Brian Kelly provides injury updates on Kayshon Boutte, Josh Williams

LSU head coach Brian Kelly addressed the absence of two of his stars in Saturday’s game versus the UAB Blazers during his post-game press conference. The Tigers’ second-leading receiver, Kayshon Boutte, warmed up before the game but ultimately, due to lingering flu symptoms, he sat out.

“We tried, he tried, he wanted to play,” Kelly said after the win. “I mean, he’s been out since Wednesday with the flu. This was an important game that he wanted to play, he just couldn’t go.”

Boutte, who had 388 yards and one touchdown on 38 coming into the game, should be able to play in Week 13 versus Texas A&M. Running back Josh Williams is in a similar boat, although he’s recovering from a knee injury.

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Kelly revealed on Saturday that if it was truly necessary, Williams could have been ready to play. However, the staff opted to play it safe with the fourth-year player.

“Josh is the knee and I guess in some instances, you know, if we pushed it, we could’ve gotten him ready,” Kelly said, “but we thought it was smart to really be safe with him and have him full-go for next week.”

Even without the team’s leading running back and second-leading receiver, the Tigers posted 565 yards of offense to take their ninth win of the season 41-10. Junior running back Noah Cain accounted for 76 yards and three touchdowns on just 13 carries on Saturday.

Odds out for LSU-Texas A&M game

The annual showdown between LSU and Texas A&M will carry a little more weight for the Tigers this year than normal, with LSU in the hunt for one of the four coveted College Football Playoff spots. Las Vegas has released its early lines for the LSU-Texas A&M game.

LSU will go into the game favored by 8.5 points, according to consensus lines listed by VegasInsider.com.

The Aggies managed to snap a six-game losing skid on Saturday after a shaky start in a game against UMass on Saturday. Texas A&M wasn’t particularly dominant offensively — scoring has been an ongoing issue this season — but managed to limit the Minutemen to just 168 total yards in the game.

Texas A&M has managed to become more competitive in the series of late after a seven-game winning streak by LSU from 2011-2017. The last four meetings have been split 2-2, with LSU claiming last year’s contest with a 27-24 win.

The Tigers will be hoping to begin another winning streak this year, which would allow LSU to go to the SEC Championship Game against Georgia with momentum.

First-year coach Brian Kelly has done a remarkable job in Baton Rouge. He clinched an SEC title game appearance just one year after LSU fired national title-winning coach Ed Orgeron and stumbled to a 6-6 finish in 2021.

The LSU-Texas A&M game will kick off at 7 p.m. ET on Nov. 26, with a national broadcast on ESPN.

On3’s staff contributed to this report.