Tag: season finale

LSU vs Texas A&M: The ‘Tale of the Tape’ for the season finale

Who has the edge between LSU and Texas A&M?

Saturday night in Death Valley could very well be the last time we see head coach Ed Orgeron on the sideline. Should the Tigers lose and miss bowl season, his era as the head coach will officially come to an end.

It will be an emotional game for the native from Louisiana. He came home to lead the LSU Tigers to a national championship in 2019. Plenty of speculation has been with Jimbo Fisher potentially coming back to the Bayou. He is adamant that he isn’t leaving College Station but that hasn’t stopped anyone from talking about it.

As far as the actual game on the field, the Aggies are looking for their ninth win of the season and secure their spot as the No. 3 team in the SEC West. In the grand scheme of things that doesn’t mean much but it would give them a better bowl destination.

The Tigers are looking to avoid their first losing season since 1999. Can they do the unthinkable and pull off an upset at home against their border rivals? ESPN’s Football Power Index has the win probability for the Tigers at 38.4%.

So you’re telling me there is a chance?

Let’s take a look at the tale of the tape in this one.

Sage Ryan and Maason Smith out for the Texas A&M game

More bad news for the LSU Tigers

An already depleted roster is going to be tested on Saturday night.

On his final radio show, head coach Ed Orgeron stated that standout freshmen Sage Ryan and Maason Smith are out for the season finale. That surely puts a damper on things as the Tigers have a tall task in the final regular-season game of the year and in Orgeron’s tenure. We will soon find out if it is the final game that he will coach for LSU.

The Tigers have been hit time and time again with injuries at both defensive line and cornerback. Andre Anthony and Ali Gaye both suffered season-ending injuries at defensive end which caused Orgeron to move Maason Smith to defensive end. All three will miss the game against the Aggies and put even more pressure on BJ Ojulari and Soni Fonua to perform.

Ryan is another injury for the secondary that lost Derek Stingley Jr and Eli Ricks, with the latter recently entering the transfer portal. Cordale Flott has also been in and out of the lineup due to injuries, now the nickel cornerback Ryan is out. Going to need the next man up to fill the void.

Brian Thomas Jr and Neil Farrell Jr were both missing from the open portion of practice, their status remains up in the air.

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