It took a quarterback change.
Marcel Reed taking his first snap of the game for an 8-yard score was all it took for a momentum shift, leading Texas A&M to a 38-23 win over LSU.
“We didn’t really prepare for it, honestly. We didn’t think that he [Reed] was going to come into the game,” senior linebacker Greg Penn III said. “Him coming in the game kind of threw us off guard.”
The shift in energy was visible; Aggie fans waved their white towels a little quicker, Kyle Field was a little louder and the blackout for Texas A&M shined brighter than LSU’s all-white uniforms.
After Reed scored for Texas A&M, the Aggies’ defensive front became more aggressive than it’s already known for being.
Nic Scourton led the Aggie defensive line with four tackles and half a sack. Taurean York led the team with seven tackles, including a tackle for loss and an interception.
The Aggies put pressure on Nussmeier, forcing him to throw an interception with 8:17 left in the third quarter. Nussmeier was forced to make quick decisions, and the change of tempo changed his demeanor.
“I don’t think we give him enough balance within the offense,” LSU head coach Brian Kelly said. “It makes him vulnerable because he has to do so much.”
Nussmeier finished with 405 passing yards, two touchdowns in the air, a touchdown on the ground and 25-of-50 passing. But three costly interceptions gave the Aggies life, and they took advantage.
BJ Mayes came away with two interceptions, and York came away with one.
“Things obviously didn’t go our way,” Nussmeier said. “I have to do a better job taking care of the football.”
But from Nussmeier, however, it wasn’t all bad.
He spread the ball around through the air, hitting nine different targets throughout the night. Aaron Anderson led the team with three receptions and a touchdown for 126 yards. Kyren Lacy added 106 yards on five receptions.
Chris Hilton Jr. made his long-awaited return to LSU’s offense, finishing with two receptions for 36 yards.
While Caden Durham had four catches for 56 yards, LSU’s run attack was almost non-existent. The Tigers finished with 23 carries for 24 yards on the ground, averaging just over a yard per carry.
“I’m disappointed… That’s not what we expected,” Kelly said. “We spent a lot of time on our run game, and we should do better there.”
In contrast, Texas A&M totaled 242 rushing yards as a team. Le’Veon Moss finished with 83 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries, and Amari Daniels added 91 yards on 12 carries.
Reed finished with 62 rushing yards and three touchdowns on nine carries, proving to be an additional run threat to the Aggies’ offense.
After Nussmeier’s second interception, Reed found the end zone again for a four-yard score.
But Reed was also a threat through the air, finishing with 70 passing yards on 2-of-2 passing.
Conner Weigman, who made the start at quarterback for Texas A&M, finished with 64 passing yards on 6-of-18 passing.
In the first half, LSU’s defense contained Texas A&M’s run threats to a minimum. Moss, in fact, was temporarily out of the game with apparent stomach troubles.
But he returned in the second half, allowing his run ability to work proficiently with Reed and Daniels.
Bradyn Swinson led the defense with seven total tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss. Greg Penn III totaled six tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss, and Whit Weeks added seven tackles. Zy Alexander and Jay’Viar Suggs also had sacks for LSU.
But one problem in the first half came back to haunt LSU in the second.
Damian Ramos missed two field goals from 48 and 49 yards out. Another 46-yard attempt from Ramos ended up resulting in a turnover after a bad snap.
“That’s the second time that’s happened,” Kelly said of the missed snap. “We’ll make sure that never happens again, ever.”
Those hypothetical points would not have put LSU past Texas A&M. But positive momentum was deemed game-changing on Saturday for Texas A&M, so it may have been for LSU as well.
Now, the Tigers are forced to leave College Station thinking of what could have been instead of what was.
“It’s big for us to come back from this,” Nussmeier said. “Everything we want is still in front of us.”
