It is the old cliche’. It was a tale of two halves as the LSU Tigers fall for the first time in SEC play with a 38-23 loss to the Texas A&M Aggies.
After the Tigers took a 17-7 lead at halftime, it was all Aggies in the second half outscoring LSU 31-6 to sit on top of the SEC standings.
Contrary to LSU’s complementary performance against Arkansas, it was everything but that on the road in College Station as all three phases of the game collapsed in this football game.
Offensively, Garrett Nussmeier had a strong first half completing 14 of 26 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns, but had his worst half of football when it was needed the most in the second half as he completed 11 of 24 passes for 146 yards and three costly interceptions.
Nussmeier ended the game completing 25 of 50 passes for 405 yards and two touchdowns along with three interceptions. Although Nussmeier’s turnovers were unacceptable, the offense did not have any balance to help their quarterback as the running game was held to only 1 yard per carry with 24 yards on 23 carries.
“We got to help Garrett out quite frankly. We got to get him a more balanced offense. He can’t be that guy that throws for 365 yards. There has to be more balance within the offense. We can go all night here and gang up on Garrett Nussmeier if we want, but the reality of it is, we have to put him in a better situation and more balance within the offense.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly on having more balance within the offense
Defensively, LSU had a strong first half frustrating Conner Weigman by completing six of 18 passes for 64 yards while also sacking him four times. However, in the second half, Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko went with the running quarterback Marcel Reed and the Tigers simply had no answer giving up four touchdowns on Reed’s first four drives.
“It wasn’t the RPOs as much as it was the quarterback run game. It is the million dollar question. I would say that we need to spend more time because right now, I would run the quarterback against us. We have a plan for the running quarterback. I don’t know if we executed the level that we needed to. 20/20 is such that we should have spent more time on it. It sure looks that way. I don’t believe there was a sense that we weren’t capable of doing it after we faced a good running quarterback at Arkansas because we had a similar plan. We got to go back and double down on our preparation for the running quarterback.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly
Reed, who started three games earlier this season, ran for three touchdowns while the SEC’s leading rusher Le’Veon Moss scored two more touchdowns accounting for 242 yards on the ground.
Finally, after the Tigers’ special teams unit made a big step forward in the 34-10 win over Arkansas, it was a major step back tonight as LSU left nine points off the scoreboard with two missed field goals by Damian Ramos and a third in which Peyton Todd was not ready for the snap and was not looking at the football when the ball was snapped.
“The silliness of the field goal stuff, that has to end. That is just ridiculous. We will clean that up in short order. That’s twice now that the snap wasn’t ready. That’s unacceptable. We will get it fixed. It is never going to happen again ever.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly on special teams miscues
LSU had opportunities in the first half after the Tigers took a 17-7 lead with Nussmeier’s two touchdown passes to Mason Taylor and Aaron Anderson, which came from 76 yards out, but a couple of missed field goals and a couple of dropped passes from receivers did not allow LSU to stretch their lead even bigger.
Missed opportunities, special teams miscues, costly interceptions, the inability to run the football, and the defense not being able to adjust to the quarterback change all on the road all came together in what was a nightmarish second half for LSU.
LSU falls to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the SEC while Texas A&M improves to 7-1 and 5-0 in the conference. As painful as this game is for the Tigers, the team’s goals are still in front of them in terms of the expanded College Football Playoff, but now, there is no margin of error.
“No, we are not out of it. We lost our margin. We have no margin of error. We have to go back and look at the things we just talked about. We got the bye week. We will clean some things up and we will go back to work on ourselves and we will get ourselves ready to play better football.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly
LSU will now head back to Baton Rouge and lick their wounds as they will be entering the bye week. Next up, the Tigers will have a pivotal SEC matchup in Tiger Stadium against the Alabama Crimson Tide for what will feel like a College Football Playoff Elimination Game with both teams having two losses on the season.
Final Stats:
| STAT | LSU | Texas A&M |
|---|---|---|
| NET TOTAL YARDS | 429 | 376 |
| NET RUSHING YARDS | 24 | 242 |
| Rushing Attempts | 23 | 49 |
| Average Per Rush | 1.0 | 4.9 |
| Rushing TDs | 1 | 5 |
| Yards Gained | 55 | 271 |
| Yards Lost | 31 | 29 |
| NET PASSING YARDS | 405 | 134 |
| Completion-Attempts | 25-50 | 8-20 |
| Completion Percentage | 50% | 40% |
| Avg Per Completion | 16.2 | 16.8 |
| YAC | 239 | 72 |
| Passing TDs | 2 | 0 |
| Drops (%) | 4 (08%) | 4 (20%) |
| TOTAL 1ST DOWNS | 19 | 16 |
| Rushing 1st Downs | 3 | 10 |
| Passing 1st Downs | 14 | 5 |
| Penalty 1st Downs | 2 | 1 |
| TOTAL PLAYS | 73 | 69 |
| Avg Yds/Play | 5.9 | 5.4 |
| Rushing-Passing | 23-50 | 49-20 |
Offense Efficiency Comparison
| STAT | LSU | Texas A&M |
|---|---|---|
| RED ZONE ATTEMPTS | 3-3 | 6-6 |
| Red Zone Points | 16 | 38 |
| RZ TDs Rush-Pass | 1-1 | 5-0 |
| RZ FG Made-Att | 1-1 | 1-1 |
| RZ Turns | 0 | 0 |
| 3rd Downs | 8-17 | 6-15 |
| 4th Downs | 0-2 | 0-1 |
| Penalties | 5-35 | 10-101 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-0 | 1-1 |
| Pts Off Turns | 7 | 17 |
| POSSESSION TIME | 29:27 | 30:33 |
Special Teams Comparison
| STAT | LSU | Texas A&M |
|---|---|---|
| Punts-Avg | 2-38.0 | 5-48.4 |
| Inside20 | 0 | 4 |
| Field Goals | 1-3 | 1-1 |
| Kick Returns | 2-39 | 0-0 |
| Punt Returns | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Defensive Comparison
| STAT | LSU | Texas A&M |
|---|---|---|
| TACKLES | 55 | 53 |
| Solo Tackles | 37 | 33 |
| Tackles for Loss | 5 | 6 |
| TFL Yards | -26 | -21 |
| Pass Breakups | 2 | 5 |
| QB Hurries | 4 | 4 |
| Sacks | 4 | 2 |
| Sacks Yards | -22 | -16 |
| Takeaways FR-INT | 1-0 | 0-3 |
| Forced Fumbles | 0 | 0 |
| Fumble Recoveries | 1 | 0 |
| FR Yards | 0 | 0 |
| Interceptions | 0 | 3 |
| INT Yards | 0 | 29 |
| TDs INT-FR | 0-0 | 0-0 |
LSU Passing
| # | PLAYER | C-A | YDS | TD | I | C% | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | NUSSMEIER,G | 25-50 | 405 | 2 | 3 | 50 | 119.2 |
LSU Receiving
| # | PLAYER | NO | YDS | TD | LNG | AVG | TGT | C% | YAC | DR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | LACY,K | 5 | 106 | 0 | 33 | 21.2 | 9 | 56 | 39 | 1 |
| 29 | DURHAM,C | 4 | 56 | 0 | 40 | 14 | 6 | 67 | 62 | 1 |
| 1 | ANDERSON,A | 3 | 126 | 1 | 76 | 42 | 6 | 50 | 82 | 0 |
| 86 | TAYLOR,M | 3 | 21 | 1 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 38 | 11 | 1 |
| 3 | HILTON JR.,C | 2 | 36 | 0 | 21 | 18 | 5 | 40 | 12 | 1 |
| 0 | THOMAS,Z | 2 | 22 | 0 | 14 | 11 | 6 | 33 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | DANIELS,C | 2 | 17 | 0 | 9 | 8.5 | 2 | 100 | 11 | 0 |
| 14 | GREEN,T | 2 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 6.5 | 3 | 67 | 9 | 0 |
| 18 | WILLIAMS,J | 2 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 67 | 8 | 0 |
| 9 RECEIVERS | 25 | 405 | 2 | 76 | 16.2 | 50 | 50 | 239 | 4 |
LSU Rushing
| # | PLAYER | ATT | YDS | TD | LNG | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | WILLIAMS,J | 7 | 23 | 0 | 13 | 3.3 |
| 29 | DURHAM,C | 11 | 15 | 0 | 10 | 1.4 |
| 13 | NUSSMEIER,G | 4 | -3 | 1 | 12 | -0.8 |
| 3 RUSHERS | 23 | 24 | 1 | 13 | 1 |
LSU Punting
| Punter | NO | YDS | AVG | LNG | I20 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TODD,P | 2 | 76 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 0 |
LSU Field Goals
| Kicker | Time | Dist | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| D.Ramos | 1st-06:15 | 23 | GOOD |
| D.Ramos | 2nd-10:53 | 48 | MISSED |
| D.Ramos | 2nd-02:46 | 49 | MISSED |
| TOTAL | 1-3 | LONG OF 23 | |
LSU All Purpose Yards
| Player | Tot | Rush | Rec | KOR | PR | IR-FR | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANDERSON,A | 126 | 0 | 126 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| LACY,K | 106 | 0 | 106 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DURHAM,C | 71 | 15 | 56 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
LSU Defense
| # | Player (Starter) | TotTk | Solo | Sack | TFL | Int | BrUp | QBH | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | B.Swinson (DE) | 7 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | W.Weeks (LB) | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | G.Penn III (LB) | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | J.Gilbert (S) | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | S.Ryan (DB) | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | D.Spears | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | S.Jones (DE) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1 | A.Stamps (CB) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 93 | A.Breaux | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | M.Burns (S) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | Z.Alexander (CB) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | J.Suggs | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 99 | G.Paez (DT) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 0 | P.Shand (DE) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 | Z.Thomas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 86 | M.Taylor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 55 | 37 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
LSU Punt Returns
| Returner | NO | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
|---|
LSU Kick Returns
| Returner | NO | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| THOMAS,Z | 2 | 39 | 20 | 20 | 0 |
LSU Team Stats By Quarter
| 1st | Rush | Pass | CAI | TotY | Avg | 3rds | Pens | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 5 | 5-22 | 12-85 | 8-12-0 | 107 | 6.3 | 2-4 | 1-15 |
| 2nd | 6 | 6-2 | 14-174 | 6-14-0 | 176 | 8.8 | 2-5 | 2-10 |
| 3rd | 3 | 6-2 | 12-39 | 3-12-2 | 41 | 2.3 | 1-4 | 1-5 |
| 4th | 5 | 6–2 | 12-107 | 8-12-1 | 105 | 5.8 | 3-4 | 1-5 |
| Total | 19 | 23-24 | 50-405 | 25-50-3 | 429 | 5.9 | 8-17 | 5-35 |
LSU Scoring Summary
| Qtr | Clock | Score | Type | Play | Drive | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 06:15 | FG | D.Ramos 23 yd Field Goal | 11/87/5:26 | 0-3 | |
| 1 | 03:51 | TD | PASS | M.Taylor 2 yd reception thrown by G.Nussmeier (PAT KICK by D.Ramos GOOD) | 4/21/1:30 | 0-10 |
| 2 | 04:55 | TD | PASS | A.Anderson 76 yd reception thrown by G.Nussmeier (PAT KICK by D.Ramos GOOD) | 3/90/0:57 | 7-17 |
| 4 | 09:57 | TD | RUSH | G.Nussmeier 1 yd rush (PAT PASS to G.Nussmeier FAILED) | 9/78/4:05 | 28-23 |
33 | 63.2 | ||||||
| 10 | REED,M | 2-2 | 70 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 394 |
| PASS TOTALS | 8-20 | 134 | 0 | 0 | 40 |
Texas A&M Receiving
| # | PLAYER | NO | YDS | TD | LNG | AVG | TGT | C% | YAC | DR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | MOSS,L | 3 | 42 | 0 | 16 | 14 | 6 | 50 | 42 | 3 |
| 1 | BARBER,J | 2 | 27 | 0 | 14 | 13.5 | 3 | 67 | 17 | 0 |
| 3 | THOMAS,N | 1 | 54 | 0 | 54 | 54 | 4 | 25 | 11 | 1 |
| 82 | CALHOUN,S | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DANIELS,A | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 100 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 RECEIVERS | 8 | 134 | 0 | 54 | 16.8 | 20 | 40 | 72 | 4 |
Texas A&M Rushing
| # | PLAYER | ATT | YDS | TD | LNG | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | DANIELS,A | 12 | 91 | 0 | 28 | 7.6 |
| 8 | MOSS,L | 14 | 83 | 2 | 25 | 5.9 |
| 10 | REED,M | 9 | 62 | 3 | 20 | 6.9 |
| 2 | BUSSEY,T | 2 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 5 |
| 22 | SMITH,E | 2 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 3.5 |
| 1 | BARBER,J | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| 15 | WEIGMAN,C | 6 | -14 | 0 | 4 | -2.3 |
| 7 RUSHERS | 49 | 242 | 5 | 28 | 4.9 |
Texas A&M Punting
| Punter | NO | YDS | AVG | LNG | I20 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WHITE,T | 5 | 242 | 48.4 | 54 | 4 | 3 |
Texas A&M Field Goals
| Kicker | Time | Dist | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| R.Bond | 4th-03:44 | 26 | GOOD |
| TOTAL | 1-1 | LONG OF 26 | |
Texas A&M All Purpose Yards
| Player | Tot | Rush | Rec | KOR | PR | IR-FR | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MOSS,L | 125 | 83 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| DANIELS,A | 96 | 91 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| REED,M | 62 | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Texas A&M Defense
| # | Player (Starter) | TotTk | Solo | Sack | TFL | Int | BrUp | QBH | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | T.York (LB) | 7 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | B.Anderson | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 | S.Williams (LB) | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | J.Hill | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | N.Scourton (DL) | 4 | 3 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | M.Ratcliffe (DB) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | D.Hicks | 3 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | D.Brooks (DB) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | D.Sanford | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | S.Turner (DL) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | R.Kennedy | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | B.Mayes (DB) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | W.Lee III (DB) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | S.Stewart (DL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | T.Jones III | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | D.Ricks (DB) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | A.Regis (DL) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | C.Howell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | S.DeShields | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 56 | R.Johnson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 53 | 33 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
Texas A&M Punt Returns
| Returner | NO | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
|---|
Texas A&M Kick Returns
| Returner | NO | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
|---|
Texas A&M Team Stats By Quarter
| 1st | Rush | Pass | CAI | TotY | Avg | 3rds | Pens | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 5 | 10-53 | 7-38 | 3-7-0 | 91 | 5.4 | 2-4 | 1-15 |
| 2nd | 3 | 12-45 | 7-11 | 2-7-0 | 56 | 2.9 | 2-5 | 4-35 |
| 3rd | 5 | 12-67 | 5-31 | 2-5-0 | 98 | 5.8 | 1-3 | 2-30 |
| 4th | 3 | 15-77 | 1-54 | 1-1-0 | 131 | 8.2 | 1-3 | 3-21 |
| Total | 16 | 49-242 | 20-134 | 8-20-0 | 376 | 5.4 | 6-15 | 10-101 |
Texas A&M Scoring Summary
| Qtr | Clock | Score | Type | Play | Drive | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 00:07 | TD | RUSH | L.Moss 7 yd rush (PAT KICK by R.Bond GOOD) | 9/75/3:44 | 7-10 |
| 3 | 08:10 | TD | RUSH | M.Reed 8 yd rush (PAT KICK by R.Bond GOOD) | 1/8/0:07 | 14-17 |
| 3 | 01:00 | TD | RUSH | M.Reed 8 yd rush (PAT KICK by R.Bond GOOD) | 7/60/3:53 | 21-17 |
| 4 | 14:07 | TD | RUSH | M.Reed 4 yd rush (PAT KICK by R.Bond GOOD) | 5/26/1:40 | 28-17 |
| 4 | 08:09 | TD | RUSH | L.Moss 3 yd rush (PAT KICK by R.Bond GOOD) | 4/75/1:48 | 35-23 |
| 4 | 03:44 | FG | R.Bond 26 yd Field Goal | 6/29/2:47 | 38-23 |
