LSU Football has business matters to attend to in College Station on Saturday night, as the Tigers look to put an exclamation mark in their conference play against No. 14 Texas A&M.
November 24, 2016.
2,892 days ago was the last time the purple and gold walked off of Kyle Field as winners.
However, in the most recent matchups, no love has been lost between these two programs.
In the 2018 matchup between LSU and Texas A&M, a total of 17 touchdowns were scored. Lasting nearly five hours, which currently ties the NCAA record for longest football game, this game wouldn’t be decided in regulation.
Instead, it would take seven overtime periods before the Aggies pulled off the upset against then-ranked No. 6 LSU by a mind-boggling final score of 74-72.
Not only did this marathon matchup set a new record for the highest-scoring game in FBS history, but this was also the fifth game in FBS history to reach seven overtimes.
Similarly, the most recent matchup between these two teams also came down to the wire.
Serving as Jayden Daniels, Malik Nabers, and Brian Thomas Jr.’s last-ever game in an LSU jersey and in front of their home crowd at Tiger Stadium, the three-headed beast on offense produced a cinematic masterpiece to conclude such a historic season.
Behind the Heisman-winning quarterback’s 120 rushing yards and four passing touchdowns (two going to Nabers and one to Thomas Jr.), LSU laid the Aggies to rest and secured the victory by a score of 42-30.
With this upcoming matchup, both teams have encountered similar situations over the course of the season so far.
For starters, both teams dropped their season opener and struggled mightily on both ends of the ball toward the beginning weeks of the season.
Additionally, Texas A&M and LSU are sitting comfortably at the top of the SEC standings because they are currently undefeated in conference play.
In regard to this upcoming matchup, the Aggies have one trick up their sleeve: home-field advantage.
Kyle Field is the fourth-largest college football stadium in the country, with a capacity of approximately 102,733. This is the Tigers’ most intimidating visitor environment of the season.
However, junior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier finds this to be an exciting challenge to face.
“Obviously, we acknowledge it’s a tough environment. It’s a tough place to play,” Nussmeier said. “Like I said before the Ole Miss game, it’s really easy to get caught up in the extracurriculars of what this game means. We’re focused on us [and] we’re focused on executing to the best of our ability and attacking our opponent.”
Boasting just over 2,200 yards and 18 touchdowns through the season so far, Nussmeier has continued to show glimpses of improvement and growth in high-pressure opportunities.
On the other hand, defensive coordinator Blake Baker has been a hot topic of discussion in the eyes of many individuals due to his successful efforts to elevate the Tigers’ defense this season.
From the rise in production from defensive end Bradyn Swinson to the unbelievable athletic ability being showcased by sophomore linebacker Whit Weeks, unironically, week in and week out, the defensive unit has started to resemble the old, intimidating Tigers’ defense that the purple and gold faithful have been waiting to see once again.
“We’ve established much more of an identity clearly on defense,” Head Coach Brian Kelly said. “We’re creating a difficult time for quarterbacks with our edge presence… our linebacker[s] are extremely active. We’re getting plays at the safety and cornerback position… and they’re playing with swagger now.”
Kickoff for the long-awaited matchup between the LSU Tigers and Texas A&M Aggies is at 6:30 p.m. CST.
LSU looks to improve their record to 7-1 on the season and 4-0 in conference play.
The all-time record of the LSU Tigers over the Texas A&M Aggies is 35-20-2.