Game Thread: LSU vs. Texas A&M

No. 5 LSU (9-2) travels to College Station for Saturday’s final matchup of the regular season.

Texas A&M (4-7) has faced plenty of hurdles this season, and the program’s lone wins have come over Sam Houston State, Miami, Arkansas and Massachusetts. A win over UMass a week ago ended a six-game losing streak for Texas A&M.

Meanwhile, the Tigers have been red-hot in head coach Brian Kelly’s first season in Baton Rouge. After losing to Florida State by one point in the season opener, LSU has gone 9-1 over the past 10 games with the lone loss coming to Tennessee.

LSU has already clinched the SEC West and will face Georgia in the SEC Championship Game next weekend, but a win in College Station would keep the hopes alive for the Tigers to potentially land in this year’s College Football Playoffs.

The Bengal Tiger staff is on site in College Station to bring you full coverage of Saturday night’s game, which is being aired on ESPN.

You can track the game’s biggest plays and scores in the LIVE Thread below.

FIRST QUARTER

The LSU offense got the ball first, and the Tigers opened up the game without Josh Williams at running back. Williams is dressed out and available, but is still recovering from an injury that kept him sidelined a week ago.

LSU moved the chains before being forced into a punt following a drop by Kyren Lacy on third down.

The Aggies took the ball over at the 10-yard line, and more than seven minutes later, Texas A&M running back Devon Achane was in the end zone to give the home side the early 7-0 lead. The 15-play, 90-yard scoring drive took 7:37 off the clock. Achane had nine carries for 54 yards and a touchdown, while true freshman quarterback Conner Weigman was 5-for-5 passing for 36 yards.

Texas A&M 7, LSU 0 – 4:54 remaining in first quarter

After the Aggies scored a touchdown on a 15-play drive, LSU answered with a touchdown on a 13-play drive.

The Tigers leaned on a balance of the pass and run to get into the red zone, then let time expire on the quarter before a critical third down attempt.

SECOND QUARTER

Facing 3rd-and-2 from the 20-yard line, LSU dialed up a quarterback power run and Jayden Daniels picked up the first down and some – going 16 yards to set up 1st-and-Goal from the 4-yard line. Running back John Emery punched it in from four yards out, and a replay from the booth overturned the call on the field that Emery was short of the goal line.

LSU 7, Texas A&M 7 – 14:00 left in the second quarter

After holding on to the football for more than half of the opening quarter, the Aggies went on Drive No. 2 to start the second quarter.

And once again, it was a long drive that got the Aggies into the red zone.

Fortunately for LSU, the Tigers buckled in at the 10-yard line and forced the field goal attempt, which put Texas A&M ahead by three points.

Texas A&M 10, LSU 7 – 9:23 remaining in second quarter

A couple of quick strikes by Jayden Daniels to Malik Nabers and Kayshon Boutte moved the chains twice and got the Tigers across midfield. Nabers moved the chains again on third down, but after getting back into the red zone, LSU was forced into a field goal attempt following another drop on third down by receiver Kyren Lacy.

LSU 10, Texas A&M 10 – 5:33 remaining in second quarter

With LSU in need of a stop before halftime, the Aggies quickly got the ball across midfield on a 29-yard run from Devon Achane. The Tigers got a couple of stops at the line of scrimmage to force 3rd-and-12, but Weigman was able to pick up the first down with his feet, once again. A first down pass to Evan Stewart was followed by another big run from Achane. And after getting into 3rd-and-Goal, Weigman found tight end Donovan Green for a wide open touchdown.

Texas A&M 17, LSU 10 – 1:10 remaining in second quarter

The Tigers had a little over a minute to attempt to steal some points before halftime, and Jayden Daniels started things off with a 12-yard completion. LSU moved the sticks again on an 11-yard pass to Jaray Jenkins. On the next snap, Daniels went back to Jenkins and Texas A&M was hit with a flag for defensive pass interference, but the referees came with a surprising reversal by picking up the flag on a play where Texas A&M defensive back Jardin Gilbert made contact with Jenkins long before the football arrived.

LSU was unable to convert on a 3rd-and-7 following the no-call, and the Tigers sent out the punt team with 16 seconds to play. The Aggies kneeled out the clock to head to the locker room with the 7-point lead.

HALFTIME

THIRD QUARTER

Texas A&M’s offense got points out of all three drives the Aggies had in the first half, but LSU defensive coordinator Matt House was able to get some early adjustments in as the defense forced a pair of three-and-outs to begin the third quarter.

Sandwiched in between Texas A&M’s punts was a nine-play scoring drive that resulted in John Emery’s second touchdown of the game on a 19-yard run.

LSU 17, Texas A&M 17 – 9:40 remaining in third quarter

With LSU getting a pair of quick stops while simultaneously tying the game at 17-17, Kyle Field was momentarily silenced. But, a turnover swung things in an entirely different direction.

On third-and-one, Jayden Daniels kept a read-option play and was immediately stripped of the football. Texas A&M’s Demani Richardson scooped up the loose ball and returned it for a touchdown to put the Aggies back in the lead.

Texas A&M 24, LSU 17 – 7:03 remaining in third quarter

The Tigers answered with an 11-play drive, but after it appeared LSU was marching towards points, things went sideways, yet again.

A holding call on freshman right tackle Emery Jones negated a first down, and LSU was unable to convert on 3rd-and-16. After punting the ball over to Texas A&M, the Aggies put even more distance between the two teams.

The Aggies ran seven plays to close out the third quarter before scoring on the first play of the fourth.

FOURTH QUARTER

Thanks to an 8-play, 83-yard drive that resulted in a one-handed touchdown grab by Moose Muhammad III, the Aggies moved ahead by 14 points on the opening play of the fourth quarter.

Texas A&M 31, LSU 17 – 14:54 remaining in fourth quarter

After a first down rush by John Emery went for no gain, Jayden Daniels was sacked on second down. On 3rd-and-15, Daniels rushed for a 10-yard gain, but the Tigers were hit with a holding call on left guard Miles Frazier that pushed it to 3rd-and-25. Daniels was injured on the play and walked off under his own power after some time spent on the ground, and backup quarterback Garrett Nussmeier had to come in for the third-and-long from LSU’s own 10-yard line. The Tigers kept it safe with a short pass to Kayshon Boutte, which he took for eight yards to set up an LSU punt.

With a little more than 12 minutes remaining, the Tigers trailed by 14 points in College Station.

And it didn’t take long for the Aggies to deliver a final knockout punch.

After another huge grab by Muhammad, this time for 39-yard gain on third down, Texas A&M marched into LSU territory and quickly into the red zone on a 17-yard run on third down by Devon Achane. Two plays later, Achane took it in from 10 yards out for the score.

Texas A&M 38, LSU 17 – 7:46 remaining in the fourth quarter

LSU fans might have been too frustrated to watch by this point, but the offense sped things up and scored in hurry. With Daniels back in the game, he rushed for 24 yards on the first play. Noah Cain then popped off a first down run, and Malik Nabers came up with an 18-yard grab for another first down. After a 16-yard run by Daniels put the ball inside the 5-yard line, Emery punched it in for his third touchdown on the night.

LSU went for two to cut the deficit to 13 points, but failed.

Texas A&M 38, LSU 23 – 6:21 remaining in the fourth quarter

While the defense had struggled all game minus a couple drives to start the third quarter, the Tigers found a quick answer and forced a three-and-out.

After getting the ball back with four minutes to play, LSU had a 1st-and-10 from the Texas A&M 22-yard line. But that quickly turned into fourth and long. Daniels hit Jaray Jenkins in the end zone, but Jenkins was unable to secure the ball through contact. The play was reviewed, and the call on the field of an incompletion was confirmed.

The Aggies got the ball back, then iced it away with Achane, who finished with a career-high 38 carries for 215 yards and two touchdowns.

The loss dropped LSU to 9-3 on the season ahead of next week’s SEC Championship Game against Georgia.

FINAL: Texas A&M 38, LSU 23