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No. 14 LSU comes alive late to take down Texas A&M

On3 imageby:Shea Dixon•11/25/23•

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© Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

The LSU football team finished out the regular season at 9-3 with a 42-30 win over Texas A&M on Saturday in Tiger Stadium.

The Tigers used 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to take the lead and never look back.

Though the Aggies got within five points with seven minutes to play, another scoring drive from LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels put LSU ahead 42-30, and another key stop from the defense sealed the win.

Daniels, who remains in the race for the Heisman Trophy, finished with 355 total yards and four touchdowns in the final game of the regular season.

LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers broke the school’s all-time career receptions record of 184, finishing the game with six catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns.

Here’s the recap on how the game unfolded, as well as a look at the biggest plays and scores from LSU’s win over Texas A&M.

FIRST QUARTER

(Texas A&M won the toss and deferred to the second half)

LSU got the ball first, and LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels immediately went deep to wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. The ball was a tad under thrown, which gave Texas A&M’s defenders a chance to break up the pass.

After two quick passes to tight end Mason Taylor, LSU was marked just short of the sticks. Instead of electing to go for it on 4th-and-1 from inside the team’s own 30-yard line, LSU head coach Brian Kelly sent out the punt unit.

LSU punter Jay Bramblett’s punt went just 38 yards, and the Tigers were hit with a penalty for kick catch interference that gave the Texas A&M offense the ball near midfield.

LSU’s defense quickly forced the Aggies into a 4th-and-1 thanks to a big tackle by linebacker Harold Perkins on TAMU quarterback Jaylen Henderson for just a three-yard gain.

On 4th-and-2 from the LSU 40-yard line, the Aggies chose to keep the offense on the field. Henderson found tight end Max Wright wide open for a potential first down, but he dropped the football for the turnover on downs.

From there, the Tigers found the end zone on Drive No. 2 for the nation’s best offense.

Daniels opened things up with a 7-yard run before hitting Thomas for a first down. On the next play, Daniels found wide receiver Malik Nabers for an 18-yard gain to get into TAMU territory.

The biggest play on the drive: a 21-yard scamper by Daniels after getting pressure from the TAMU defensive front. The run put the Tigers inside the 10-yard line, and three straight runs by running back Logan Diggs got LSU the touchdown.

LSU 7, Texas A&M 0 – 7:52 remaining in first quarter

The best way to keep LSU’s offense off the field? Take nine minutes off the clock with one scoring drive.

Texas A&M did just that, going 67 yards in 17 plays to take 9:02 off the clock during a possession that spanned two quarters.

TAMU converted on a pair of third downs and a fourth down attempt to close out the first quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

From there, the Aggies converted a 3rd-and-11 to start the second quarter. That put the Aggies at LSU’s 4-yard line, and a pair of running plays led to a touchdown from Baton Rouge native Le’Veon Moss.

LSU 7, Texas A&M 7 – 13:43 remaining in second quarter

LSU’s offense took the field for just the third time with 13 minutes left until halftime, but the drive lasted just three plays before the Tigers had to punt it away.

After running back Josh Williams was stuffed on a run up the middle, Daniels and Nabers weren’t able to connect on second down and Daniels was sacked on third down.

The Aggies took the ball back at the 35-yard line with 12:22 remaining in the half.

Texas A&M took another four minutes off the clock with a nine-play drive that culminated in LSU’s defense getting a big stop on third down to force the field goal. Aggies kicker Randy Bond stepped in to convert the 48-yarder to give Texas A&M the team’s first lead of the game.

Texas A&M 10, LSU 7 – 8:17 remaining in second quarter

After Daniels threw a would-be first down pass to wide receiver Kyren Lacy that was dropped, the senior quarterback turned around and picked up the first down on his own with a 13-yard run. TAMU safety Demani Richardson was then flagged for an additional 15 yards after throwing Daniels out of bounds.

LSU immediately went deep to Nabers on a ball that was overthrown to the end zone, but it was for not after Miles Frazier was hit with a holding call that backed LSU up to 1st-and-20 from near midfield.

No matter, Daniels delivered again, taking off for a 23-yard gain and first down. The Tigers followed it up with another first down when Daniels hit Nabers, who then made multiple Aggies miss for the first down. A five-yard pass to Thomas got the Tigers inside the 10-yard line, and after a quick run up the middle, LSU called the team’s first timeout of the half.

Facing 3rd-and-3 from the TAMU 6-yard line, LSU came out of the timeout and dialed up a great call. Daniels rolled right and found a wide open Nabers for the touchdown to give the Tigers the lead, once again.

LSU 14, Texas A&M 10 – 5:04 remaining in second quarter

Texas A&M came up with another answer, and once more, it took valuable time off the clock before leading to a score.

The Aggies converted on a trio of third downs, as well as another fourth down, before eventually finding tight end – and one-time LSU commitment – Jake Johnson for the go-ahead touchdown with 14 seconds left until halftime.

Texas A&M 17, LSU 14 – 14 seconds remaining in second quarter

The Tigers elected to kneel out the clock and head to the locker room down by three points.

HALFTIME: Texas A&M 17, LSU 14

THIRD QUARTER

Those hoping for halftime adjustments on defense, look away.

Texas A&M’s offense started the half by picking up first downs on four straights plays to get inside the 10-yard line.

The Aggies punched it in on the ground for the touchdown on 3rd-and-goal, extending the lead to 10 points with 26 minutes remaining in the game.

Texas A&M 24, LSU 14 – 11:04 remaining in third quarter

In need of points, Jayden Daniels delivered.

The Tigers got the ball near midfield before facing a 3rd-and-4, which resulted in the always-reliable Nabers dropping a wide open pass that would have converted the first down.

With the ball in LSU territory, Brian Kelly gave the green light for the Tigers to go for it on fourth down.

Daniels dropped back to pass, and after evading the pressure, he took off 49 yards to the 4-yard line. Three plays later, running back Josh Williams punched it in for the touchdown to bring the Tigers back within a field goal.

Texas A&M 24, LSU 21 – 7:51 remaining in third quarter

Texas A&M’s offense drove down the field on what looked like another long drive that would result in a score, but one of LSU’s best players stepped up when needed most.

With the Aggies having converted on another fourth down, linebacker Harold Perkins came up with a big quarterback hurry that resulted in 3rd-and-12. From there, Perkins stayed on the field as a QB spy, and he brought down Henderson after he tried to run – gaining just two yards and forcing a field goal.

TAMU’s Randy Bond missed the 31-yard attempt, giving the Tigers the ball back down 24-21 as the clock turned to the fourth quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER

A 3rd-and-11 attempt by Daniels went incomplete after Texas A&M brought pressure, which resulted in Bramblett punting it 46 yards to the Aggies 31-yard line – where long snapper Slade Roy made an impressive play to bring down a dangerous return man in Ainias Smith for a 4-yard loss.

After Smith picked up a first down two plays into the Texas A&M drive, the Tigers forced a 3rd-and-7 – and that’s when the biggest defensive play so far came.

On third down, defensive tackle Maason Smith got pressure and linebacker Greg Penn III dropped into coverage and grabbed an interception off Henderson, giving LSU the ball at the 50-yard line.

From there, LSU’s offense looked like it had all season on a quick scoring drive.

First, Daniels found Thomas for a first down, then hit wide receiver Chris Hilton for a 25-yard gain.

On the next play, the offensive line gave Daniels plenty of time before he found Thomas on a strike to the back of the end zone. Thomas hauled it in and got his feet down for the go-ahead touchdown from 23 yards out.

LSU 28, Texas A&M 24 – 11:49 remaining in the fourth quarter

Coming off an interception on the prior drive, the LSU defense came up with another answer.

First, Penn pushed Henderson out of bounds for a sack, then Smith got the ball carrier out of bounds for a two-yard gain to set up third-and-long.

That’s when a pair of former 5-stars joined up for another huge stop as linebacker Harold Perkins – being used as a QB spy – joined up with edge rusher Da’Shawn Womack for the sack on Henderson to force the punt.

Greg Clayton return the ball 10 yards and into LSU territory, and Daniels quickly hit Nabers for a 21-yard gain.

With the catch, Nabers became LSU’s all-time leader in receptions with 184 (and counting).

The Tigers had a first down at the Texas A&M 32-yard line, but a pair of nice plays by Louisiana native and Aggies linebacker Edgerrin Cooper resulted in a 3rd-and-9 with 8:35 remaining in the game and LSU holding the 28-24 lead.

Texas A&M was hit with a holding call on third down that gave the Tigers a free first down, and Daniels immediately went to the end zone for Nabers. Nabers made the catch and appeared to get a foot down, and the officials ruled it a touchdown. After a review, the call stood on the 21-yard scoring grab.

LSU 35, Texas A&M 24 – 8:25 remaining in the fourth quarter

With LSU holding a double-digit lead, the defense followed up two huge drives by giving up a long score that brought the Aggies within five points.

After converting a first down to open the drive, Henderson dumped it off to tight end Max Wright for what appeared to be a short gain. Instead, LSU linebacker Omar Speights missed the tackle and Wright went 51 yards for the touchdown.

Texsa A&M’s two-point conversion attempt was no good.

LSU 35, Texas A&M 30 – 7:20 remaining in fourth quarter

On the first play, Daniels hit Nabers and Nabers did the rest, running 75 yards up the sidelines for the touchdown. However, the score was called back on a holding call on wide receiver Kyren Lacy.

On 3rd-and-4 at the 20-yard line, LSU offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock called for a run, which caught the Aggies by surprise as Logan Diggs went for the first down. One play later, Daniels found Lacy in the end zone, and he made an impressive grab to secure the ball and get his feet inbounds for the score.

LSU 42, Texas A&M 30 – 4:13 remaining in fourth quarter

With Texas A&M in need of points, LSU’s defense answered for the third time across the past four drives.

The Aggies moved the ball just seven yards on four plays before turning it over on downs. From there, the Tigers kneeled out the clock to secure the 12-point win.

FINAL: LSU 42, Texas A&M 30

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