LSU Football suffered a disappointing loss against No. 14 Texas A&M in their primetime matchup this previous weekend, which showcased the top two teams in the SEC standings. With more than 108,000 fans in attendance, this is the third-highest attendance number in Kyle Field’s long-stored history.

When taking a closer look at the unfolding of this matchup from the Tigers, it’s hard not to notice the missed opportunities that allowed the Aggies to scratch and crawl their way back to making the game competitive and close.

In the first quarter, LSU struck first behind the impressive effort of standout tight end Mason Taylor, who hauled in a receiving touchdown deep into the red zone.

With a reputation for not producing many explosive plays with his arm so far this season, junior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier decided it was time to stand on business and demonstrate his undeniable arm talent.

With five minutes remaining in the second quarter, Nussmeier successfully connected with sophomore wide receiver Aaron Anderson on a simple slant route.

However, the Aggies were in a busted coverage. Also, Anderson’s 40-yard dash time is just below 4.40.

In the open field, this is definitely a dangerous combination to have.

76 yards later, Anderson galloped into the endzone and increased the Tigers’ lead over the Aggies to 17-7.

This play was the longest pass of the season so far by Nussmeier.

Entering the second half, Texas A&M had a tough decision to make regarding their starting quarterback, Conner Weigman.

After completing 6/18 pass attempts for only 64 yards and being sacked four times, Aggie Head Coach Mike Elko decided to take the chance on backup quarterback Marcel Reed.

Very quickly, it became evident that the Tigers’ defense had absolutely no answers for the Aggie’s unique run scheme.

From a defensive standpoint, the second half of this game was a complete, utter disaster.

After allowing three rushing touchdowns from Reed, Nussmeier coughed up three interceptions of his own (two of which were intercepted by Aggie cornerback BJ Mayes)

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the momentum inside the stadium drastically shifted in favor of the home team.

As College Station slowly came back to life, this was the beginning of the end for the Tigers’ aspirations of walking out victorious for the first time since November 24, 2016.

When examining what caused such issues on defense, linebacker Greg Penn III believes that the team’s defensive group must take responsibility for their substandard play.

“I’m going to say that we weren’t just ready for [Reed],” Penn III said. “I mean, I’m not going to make excuses, but we just didn’t do a good job of doing our jobs when we were in the game.”

After halftime, Texas A&M outscored LSU 31-6 for the remainder of the game.

And to a certain extent, with important matchups on the horizon, some of these problems must be wrinkled out well in advance.

“I thought the first half of football, we disrupted the quarterback [and] got the quarterback pulled out of the game,” Head Coach Brian Kelly said. “They had to make a change. They brought in [Marcel Reed], who had that one play down the middle [during] the fourth quarter. That was really it for the passing game.”

Marcel Reed finished 2/2 for 70 passing yards, nine carries for 62 yards, and three touchdowns.

Garrett Nussmeier went 25/50 for over 400 passing yards, two touchdowns, and three costly interceptions.

With their bye week approaching this week, the LSU Tigers will look to address these issues and hash them out before facing their other SEC opponents.

The next game doesn’t get any easier.

LSU will face No. 14 Alabama in Death Valley on Nov. 9, 2024.

Each team’s season and hopes of potentially making the newly-formatted, 12-team College Football Playoff is on the line.

With so much at stake, be prepared for a potential instant-classic game.