The LSU game plan was simple Saturday afternoon — keep Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel and his Johnny Football magic on the bench.
An LSU tailback carried the ball 55 times in the Tigers’ 34-10 win against the Aggies, as they dominated the clock with more than double the time of possession as its opponent.
“We wanted to take the clock away,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “I don’t know how many possessions they had, but when you have the ball 40 minutes, they have a difficult time with snaps.”
One of the nation’s quickest offenses, Texas A&M recorded just 59 snaps in Tiger Stadium, in large part due to the slow, methodical push of the LSU offense. The No. 15 Tigers (8-3, 4-3 Southeastern Conference) ran 75 plays on Saturday — the most since the opening week against TCU — with the bulk of plays coming out of the power run.
Junior running back Terrence Magee said LSU offensive coordinator Cam Cameron challenged the offense to rush for at least 300 yards — a feat it easily surpassed with about five minutes to go in the game, finishing with 330 yards on the ground.
“We knew it would have to be like that,” said sophomore running back Jeremy Hill. “Coach Cam said earlier in the week we’re going to need to control time of possession and contain their high octane offense and keep them off the field as much as possible.”
Magee and Hill tag teamed for 227 yards on 27 carries against the Aggies, highlighted by a five-play, 71-yard touchdown drive consisting solely of Magee runs in the first quarter.
LSU stuck to the run-heavy offense all game despite Texas A&M loading the box on certain plays in the hopes of slowing down the Tigers’ effective, ground-and-pound assault.
Texas A&M defensive end and New Orleans native Julien Obioha said the Aggies fully expected the Tigers to run the ball all game, but nothing they did seemed to stifle the attack.
“I grew up watching LSU football, so I knew that they had a talented back,” Obioha said. “I know they do not have just one running back; they have a feature of running backs.”
Junior wide receiver Jarvis Landry finished the night with a team-high 87 yards and two touchdowns Saturday. The team’s leader in receiving touchdowns said he was surprised at how often LSU ran the ball considering the amount of attention the defense was giving to the run.
LSU senior quarterback Zach Mettenberger went 11-for-20 for 193 yards and a pair of touchdowns — not his most prolific outing of the season.
But Mettenberger said it’s difficult to argue with the run-first game plan when it continues to work.
“There were opportunities to take shots down the field, and we took them every now and then,” Mettenberger said. “When you’re running the ball against 9-10 guys in the box like we were tonight and still able to get 7 yards a pop, why fix it if it works.”
LSU senior quarter back Zach Mettenberger (8) throws a pass Saturday Nov. 23, 2013 during the Tigers' 34-10 victory against Texas A&M in Tiger Stadium.
