On paper, this should not have been a game that LSU won, but Death Valley was alive with belief as its home team entered the second half with the lead over Texas A&M.
It was the No. 20 team up against No. 3 and the SEC’s current top dog.
The Tigers already had two losses, one to Ole Miss and last week against Vanderbilt. Texas A&M was 7-0.
And yet, LSU led at halftime by three points.
However, the team eventually crumbled in the third quarter, allowing three touchdowns in that frame alone and ultimately falling 49-25.
“No one is more disappointed than our football team,” head coach Brian Kelly said. “They are looking for answers, and I have to be able to provide that for them. The performance in the second half was the most disappointing part of this game.”
At Vanderbilt, LSU’s defense couldn’t keep up with quarterback Diego Pavia, but it was the offense that once again dug the hole. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier couldn’t hit his targets with a 68% completion rate, and the offensive line deteriorated throughout the game.
After poor performances on both sides of the ball, it was going to take a complete 180 to challenge the undefeated Aggies.
Under the bright lights of Tiger Stadium on Saturday night, the defense took the field first. Its coverage looked solid during the first drive, until it wasn’t.
Just like what happened at Vanderbilt and even last year at College Station, the Tigers were caught off guard by a running QB.
It was a tale as old as time for LSU fans. As soon as Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed really started to use his legs, he was long gone. Not even five minutes into the first quarter, he ran 41 yards and into the end zone.
Reed had a night to remember, passing for 202 yards and adding 102 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
LSU’s defense has had a noticeable decline in performance, especially with star linebacker Whit Weeks injured.
Rarely have the Tigers been able to answer almost immediately when down, but when LSU got to the 10-yard line on a pass interference call, Trey’Dez Green pushed them within five yards of scoring.
On the next play, Nussmeier took a risk: a pass to Green again, who was headed directly into the thick of a very crowded end zone. The pass connected, giving LSU the bounce back it needed.
On the following drive, first down after first down was allowed on the opposite side of the ball. The Aggies crept all the way to the 7-yard line, where Reed made a cut to the right and found an open receiver in the dead center of the end zone.
Down seven, the Tigers came back stronger in the second quarter. PJ Woodland broke up a pass for a third down, and Jimari Butler hurried Reed to force an incomplete pass.
The Aggies chose to punt from the 5. Unexpectedly, safety Jhase Thomas dove and blocked the kick, sending the stadium into a frenzy. The ball tumbled out of the end zone for a safety and a much-needed two points.
The offense’s drive wasn’t as productive. Nussmeier went three-and-out after missing a wide-open Green in scoring position.
On third-and-3, Reed threw a bomb into the end zone, but didn’t anticipate AJ Haulcy cutting in from the right, sweeping in with an interception and going down at the LSU 25.
One of Nussmeier’s better moments was a 42-yarder to Barion Brown on third down, finally connecting a deep pass. Running back Harlem Berry got the first down with a rush up the center.
Berry was a standout in the first half with 56 rushing yards, averaging seven per carry, and a touchdown. But just like the majority of the offense, he became stagnant, with only a single carry for three yards in the second half.
Damian Ramos missed the extra point, but later kicked a 33-yard field goal after the offense failed to convert a third down at the end of the half. LSU led 18-14 by halftime, a staggering feat that gave Death Valley a pulse.
When both teams returned to the field, though, all that hard work proved fruitless.
An early drive saw Texas A&M average eight yards per play and reach the 4-yard line. Reed executed when it mattered and scrambled inside to put the team back in front.
That wasn’t even close to the end of it. After Nussmeier was sacked for the third time on the night, LSU punted, but it was returned all the way as Texas A&M’s KC Concepcion made a 79-yard mad dash for the end zone.
“Back-to-back touchdowns right out of the gates and then the inability offensively to get into rhythm hurt our team today,” Kelly said. “We did not play at the level that is needed to be successful. We struggled with protection, and we were not effective enough offensively to sustain any kind of rhythm.”
The Aggies continued to pummel LSU’s defense, and the offensive line fell apart, leaving Nussmeier vulnerable time and time again.
Just minutes into the third quarter, LSU had fallen apart completely, destroying its lead and letting go of the momentum it built all throughout the first half.
A depleted LSU walked with heads down as the third quarter ended, while the Aggies ran to cheering fans, the kind of celebration that comes with a win.
The final nail in the coffin came in the fourth quarter with another set of touchdowns within the red zone.
Texas A&M’s rushing attack dominated with 224 yards to LSU’s 60.
The Tigers were finally able to score for the first time in the second half with 59 seconds left in the game. Backup QB Michael Van Buren Jr. relieved Nussmeier with six minutes left and hit Kyle Parker in the end zone to cap his lone drive.
They may have gotten the final points, but nothing now could repair the damage done in those 30 minutes of football.
“If guys are playing hard, and I know they were, which was seen in how they prepared well this week, then that is a football issue,” Kelly said. “So, I have to take a long look at what we are doing and how we are doing it, both from a coaching and a personnel standpoint.”
The game proved historic, as it was the Aggies’ first win in Tiger Stadium in over three decades.
