It was a tale of two halves for LSU on Saturday night against Texas A&M.
The Tigers dominated the first half and looked like they were on the way to a statement win on the road. But TAMU completely reversed the script in the second half, outscoring them 31-6 as it ultimately pulled away to win 38-23 and hand coach Brian Kelly’s team its first SEC loss as well as a severe blow to its College Football Playoff hopes.
LSU captured the early momentum on the road, taking a 3-0 lead before a fumble from star Aggies running back Le’Veon Moss deep in their own territory set it up with excellent field position. The Tigers’ offense cashed in with an excellent throw and catch from [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] to [autotag]Mason Taylor[/autotag] to extend the lead to 10-0.
However, Texas A&M responded with an impressive drive to get on the board as Moss made up for the fumble with a touchdown to get on the board.
LSU had a chance to push its lead back up to 10, but a dropped touchdown from [autotag]Chris Hilton Jr.[/autotag], who mistimed his attempt to high-point a ball in the endzone in his first target of the season, brought out the field goal unit. From 48 yards out, [autotag]Damian Ramos[/autotag] missed just to the right as the Tigers wasted a scoring opportunity.
However, they wouldn’t waste their next possession. After starting at the 10, Nussmeier found [autotag]Aaron Anderson[/autotag] on a quick slant, and he did the rest as he hit a gap and found paydirt 75 yards later, outrunning the entire Aggie secondary.
LSU had the momentum entering the second half but missed some opportunities. Ramos missed another long field goal before halftime, and early in the third quarter, [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] threw an ugly interception to set the Aggies up with excellent field position.
After a 6 of 18 start for Conner Weigman, Mike Elko opted for a quarterback change to the more mobile Marcel Reed, and they quickly capitalized and cut the deficit to three. LSU had a chance to answer on the ensuing drive, but more special teams mishaps cost it as an early snap ruined the timing on Ramos’ kick, which couldn’t even be attempted.
TAMU responded with a quick touchdown drive led and capped off by Reed, giving it its first lead of the game. Things went from bad to worse as Nussmeier, who was excellent in the first half, tossed his second interception to give the Aggies great field position again. Though a penalty took a touchdown off the board, Texas A&M ultimately found the end zone to extend the lead to 11.
With their backs against the wall, the Tigers had to respond. Nussmeier made a few gutsy throws to lead them down the field, and after a touchdown pass to [autotag]Trey’Dez Green[/autotag] was ruled short at the one, Nussmeier did it himself on a sneak to cut the deficit back to one score. However, the two-point conversion attempt to cut it to three was no good, and LSU still faced a five-point deficit.
However, it ultimately didn’t matter. Once Reed entered the game, the Tiger defense couldn’t get off the field. On the following drive, Reed connected with Noah Thomas for a 54-yard gain, and Moss quickly scored again to push the lead to 12, the biggest lead of the game to that point for either team.
The offense got the ball back, but a well-read check down was intercepted, Nussmeier’s third of the game, and while Texas A&M couldn’t quite deliver the dagger, it hit a field goal to push the lead to 15 and make things difficult for the Tigers.
LSU turned the ball over on downs, officially ending any hope of a comeback. After dominating the first half, Nussmeier was just 11 of 24 in the second along with his three turnovers. He was also sacked twice and faced the most pressure he has all season, though he still managed 405 yards on 50 attempts with 50% completion.
Nussmeier had to lead the way on offense as there was no ground game to speak of. LSU totaled just 24 yards on 23 carries.
Defensively, it was a disastrous second half. The Tigers allowed 229 yards in the final two quarters and 376 overall. The Aggies ran for 242 yards and five touchdowns, with Reed accounting for 62 of those yards and three of those touchdowns.
It’s an ugly loss for an LSU team that seemed to have turned the corner in recent weeks. Now, it will have the week off to refocus before hosting Alabama in what has become a must-win game.
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