When squaring off with Texas A&M, the scheme is simple — stop sophomore quarterback Johnny Manziel, and victory is all but assured.
LSU can attest to this formula, as it devised the blueprint for stifling Manziel’s one-man circus act during last season’s 24-19 victory against the Aggies in College Station, Texas. The Tigers’ relentless harassment of the Heisman quarterback resulted in three sacks, and Manziel threw three interceptions while accounting for only 303 total yards.
But when Texas A&M and LSU meet in Baton Rouge on Saturday, a single variable may disprove the equation.
Though Manziel carries his team with athleticism and improvisational wizardry, the Aggies boast another dimension often overshadowed by the former Heisman winner. Behind the grinning façade of Johnny Football, Texas A&M is buttressed by a stable of running backs averaging more than 150 yards per game.
The many-pronged Texas A&M rushing attack could spell trouble for the Tigers, who have allowed 190 yards or more on the ground in four games this season. Through 10 contests in 2013, LSU has conceded 208 more rushing yards than it did during last season’s entire 13-game schedule.
While Manziel leads the Aggies with 611 rushing yards this season, the Texas A&M ground attack includes five backs that have at least 20 carries in 2013. Three of those five rushers average more than five yards per carry, and the Aggies are tied for 10th in the nation with 29 touchdowns on the ground.
Senior Ben Malena leads the pack with 476 yards and a team-high nine rushing touchdowns. Malena is followed by a sophomore foursome that has scampered for a combined 886 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Players emphasized keeping good technique and maintaining gap assignments against Texas A&M’s zone rushing scheme. LSU coach Les Miles said he wants the offense to sustain long drives to keep Manziel and the Aggies on the sidelines, but the Tigers’ defense will have to get them off the field first.
“Well, you’re going to have to be in shape, that’s just the way it is,” Miles said. “They’ll come up and tempo you, and then obviously get snap after snap. You’re going to have to get yourself off the field defensively, and you hope that we can keep the ball some amount of time so that there’s not a consistent theme there where the defense is taxed.”
Even if the Tigers can stymie Texas A&M possessions, the Aggies’ sideline-to-sideline spread offense is designed to physically exhaust defenses. Should LSU fall prey to Manziel’s scramble drill, it will have to dig into the depth chart to secure the inside rushing lanes.
The Tigers are unbeaten in the six games they outrushed their opponents, but they sport a 1-3 record when being outrushed, with the lone win coming against Alabama-Birmingham. In its first three losses, LSU was outgained on the ground by a combined 331 yards.
For an LSU defense that has been overrun by dynamic offenses, containing Manziel alone is a tall order. But if the Tigers concentrate all their efforts on the sophomore quarterback, they may end up getting steamrolled by the rotation of Aggie runners.
Name                     Carries     Yards    YPC        TDs
Ben Malena               98        476      4.9         9
Trey Williams            45         326      7.2         6
Tra Carson                52        269      5.2         5
Brandon Williams     38        212      5.6         1
Brice Dolezel             21         79       3.8          0