2024-10-27 10:35:03
Texas A&M football entered the last weekend of October with a 6-1 record and clear signs of progress under first-year head coach Mike Elko.
After Week 9 of the 2024 college football season, the Aggies now have much bigger, more ambitious goals within their grasp.
No. 14 Texas A&M notched its most significant win of the season, rallying behind quarterback Marcel Reed in the second half for a come-from-behind 38-23 victory against No. 7 LSU in a matchup of top-15 teams Saturday night at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.
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With the win, the Aggies are now in sole possession of first place in the SEC, with four regular-season games remaining.
Trailing 17-7 at halftime, Texas A&M found life offensively in the second half behind Reed, who came in midway through the third quarter to replace starting quarterback Conner Weigman. After only one of the Aggies’ first eight possessions ended with points of any kind, Reed guided Texas A&M to five consecutive scoring drives, the first four of which ended with touchdowns.
The Aggies outscored the Tigers 31-6 in the second half.
Reed finished the night with 62 yards and three touchdowns on nine carries, along with 70 passing yards on just two attempts, both of which were completed.
The Texas A&M defense played an integral role in the late onslaught, intercepting LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier three times in the second half to give the Aggies short fields in each instance. Texas A&M scored 17 points off the three interceptions, two of which were secured by BJ Mayes.
Nussmeier finished the night with 405 passing yards and two touchdowns, but in the second half, he completed just 11 of 24 passes for 146 yards and three interceptions.
With the loss, LSU fell to 6-2 this season, putting the Tigers’ College Football Playoff hopes in a perilous position.
Here is the score, updates and highlights from the Aggies’ victory:
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| TEAMS | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | F |
| TEXAS A&M | 7 | 0 | 14 | 17 | 38 |
| LSU | 10 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 23 |
The Aggies have to settle for a field goal after getting as far as the LSU 1-yard line, before a penalty and a suddenly stout LSU defense prevents Marcel Reed and company from getting in the end zone for a fifth time in five drives.
Texas A&M is able to push its lead to 15, 38-23, after a Randy Bond 26-yard field goal with 3:44 left. Critically, still a two-possession game.
Garrett Nussmeier has the first three-interception game of his career, as an attempted screen pass with the pocket collapsing is picked off by Texas A&M’s Taurean York, giving the Aggies the ball at the LSU 38-yard line with 6:31 remaining.
The Aggies can put the game away with another touchdown here.
LSU continues to have no answer whatsoever from Marcel Reed. The Texas A&M quarterback began the drive with a 54-yard pass, which he immediately followed up with a 12-yard run. On a second-and-goal from the LSU 3-yard line, he entrusts someone else with the ball, handing off to Le’Veon Moss for a touchdown that pushes the Aggies’ lead to 35-23 with 8:09 remaining.
It wrapped up a four-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that took just 1:48 off the clock.
Texas A&M now has touchdowns on its past four drives, two of which went for at least 60 yards.
With the game slipping away from it in the final quarter, LSU gets exactly what it needed — a touchdown.
Garrett Nussmeier manages to just get over the goal line on a quarterback sneak on third-and-goal from inches outside the end zone.
LSU fails to get the ensuing 2-point conversion that would have gotten it within a field goal, but with 9:57 left, the Tigers are back within a single score.
The targeting penalty on Jahdae Walker wasn’t able to halt the Aggies offense.
On a third-and-goal from the LSU 4-yard line, Marcel Reed waits until the last possible second to pull the ball out of Amari Daniels’ gut, which fools the Tigers’ defense and allows Reed a clear path to the end zone for his third rushing touchdown of the half.
Reed is up to 48 yards on six carries, with three touchdowns. Texas A&M’s lead is up to 11, 28-17, with 14:07 remaining.
What had appeared to be a 10-yard touchdown run for Texas A&M’s Le’Veon Moss was called back because of a targeting call on Aggies wide receiver Jahdae Walker, who delivered a shot to the head of an LSU defender while attempting a block several yards away from the play. After a video review, the targeting call was confirmed and Walker was ejected from the game.
The penalty pushes Texas A&M back to the LSU 18-yard line.
For the second time in the quarter, Garrett Nussmeier is awry on a pass that ends up in the hands of Texas A&M’s BJ Mayes, which allows the Aggies to take over at the LSU 26-yard line with 47 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Marcel Reed has been in at quarterback for Texas A&M on the past two drives. In what might not be a coincidence, both possessions have ended in touchdowns.
Reed again takes a quarterback keeper from the LSU 8-yard line and finds the end zone, this time with some help from his offensive line, which pushed him in for the final few yards of the run and across the goal line.
Reed had 32 rushing yards on a 7-play, 60-yard scoring drive for the Aggies to give them a 21-17 lead.
For the third time tonight, LSU fails to convert on a field goal. This time, toe never even met leather for the Tigers.
On what would have been a 46-yard field goal attempt, LSU snapped the ball while the holder was looking back at kicker Damian Ramos. Because of the miscommunication, Texas A&M takes over at its own 40-yard line with 4:51 remaining.
Notably, Marcel Reed is still in the game at quarterback for the Aggies.
It didn’t take the Aggies long to capitalize on the Garrett Nussmeier interception.
On first-and-goal from the LSU 8-yard line, Marcel Reed comes in the game for Conner Weigman at quarterback and runs into the end zone on a quarterback keeper.
Texas A&M is right back in the game, trailing 17-14 with 8:10 remaining in the third quarter.
Scrambling to avoid pressure, Garrett Nussmeier throws an ill-advised pass across his body, which is picked off by Texas A&M’s BJ Mayes and returned to the LSU 8-yard line with 8:16 remaining in the third quarter.
With the Aggies’ offensive struggles this game, that was a desperately needed play.
Nothing doing for either offense coming out of halftime. Texas A&M’s first drive lasts plays for a net gain of 9 yards, whereas LSU’s drive starts with a 17-yard completion followed by two incompletions and a 3-yard run.
Here’s a look at where things stand statistically between LSU and Texas A&M at halftime, with the Tigers holding on to a 17-7 lead:
And some individual stats:
With the pocket collapsing, a Garrett Nussmeier pass to Kyren Lacy is broken up late, but once the play ends, Nussmeier is shown by ESPN cameras limping. He remained in the game, however, and the Tigers ran it out until halftime with a 10-point lead.
Brian Kelly didn’t seem particularly worried about Nussmeier’s injury, telling ESPN’s Holly Rowe that “We’ve got three other guys who are ready to go and prepared.”
Another once-promising LSU drive ends with a missed field goal from Damian Ramos, though, like his first miss, it was a long attempt, from 49 yards out. It would have been a career-long made kick for Ramos, who pushes it wide right.
Texas A&M will take over at its own 32 with 2:44 remaining in the half and a chance to get within one score.
LSU offensive lineman Garrett Dellinger left the game in the second quarter, walking gingerly off the field with the help of team trainers.
According to ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe, Dellinger has an ankle injury, which has been taped up, and LSU’s staff is confident he’ll be able to return.
For the second time in its past three drives, LSU gets a touchdown. And this one was a long one.
On a second-and-11, Garrett Nussmeier connects with Aaron Anderson for what would have been a 10-yard completion, but Anderson slips through a pair of Texas A&M defenders and outruns the rest of the Aggies’ secondary for a 76-yard touchdown.
It’s the longest touchdown pass of Nussmeier’s burgeoning career and gives the Tigers a 10-point lead with about five minutes left in the half.
After the Damian Ramos missed field goal gave them the ball at their own 31-yard line, the Aggies got up to the LSU 47, but holding and false start penalties push Texas A&M into a third-and-27 and, ultimately, a punt.
LSU will take over at its own 10 with 5:52 left in the first half.
LSU got as far as the Texas A&M 26-yard line, but a 10-play drive stalled out and Damian Ramos hooks his 48-yard field goal attempt wide left. Upon closer inspection, it looked like a poor hold from the Tigers.
With the game starting to get away from it and the home crowd getting antsy, Texas A&M provides the exact kind of response it needed. The Aggies go 75 yards in nine plays, with Le’Veon Moss capping things off with a 7-yard touchdown run right through the middle of the LSU defense.
Moss, a Louisiana native, got the drive going on a positive note with a 25-yard run on the first play.
The Tigers are able to capitalize on the turnover, with Garrett Nussmeier connecting with the outstretched hands of Mason Taylor on a first-and-goal from the Texas A&M 2-yard line.
LSU’s lead is now up to 10-0 just over 11 minutes into the game. Kyle Field’s a little quieter now than it was at kickoff.
On a third-and-long, LSU forces a fumble on a Texas A&M catch and recovers the ball. After a personal foul penalty after the play on the Aggies, the Tigers take over at the Texas A&M 21-yard line.
Prime opportunity here for LSU to build an early two-possession lead.
What’s expected to be a matchup between two strong defenses officially has its first points. Buoyed by a 40-yard catch-and-run from Caden Durham, the Tigers got as far as the Texas A&M 6-yard line, but they were unable to get into the end zone and settle for a 23-yard field goal from Damian Ramos. Points are points, though.
The Aggies initially appeared to be moving, with a face mask penalty on LSU getting Texas A&M to the LSU 39-yard line. From there, however, a Greg Penn III sack of Conner Weigman backed the Aggies up and ultimately forced them to punt. Texas A&M was able to down the Tyler White punt at the LSU 7, so the Tigers’ drive will start in the shadow of their own end zone.
It was an uneventful first drive for the Tigers, who punt after two Garrett Nussmeier incompletions and a 1-yard loss on a run. A 38-yard punt gives Texas A&M excellent field position, too, at its own 38-yard line.
An hour before kickoff, LSU and Texas A&M players got into confrontations on multiple occasions. It’s a huge game between two programs very familiar with one another, so note entirely surprising. Could be a sign of a physical, chippy game to come.
After being listed on the SEC availability report as “probable,” it’s now official — LSU wide receiver Chris Hilton Jr. will suit up today, with the program confirming the news in the hour leading up to kickoff.
The six-foot junior has missed each of LSU’s first seven games this season while nursing an ankle injury. Last season, he had 225 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Aggies players congregate near midfield at Kyle Field about two hours before kickoff is scheduled against LSU.
It will be quite the color contrast Saturday night in College Station. Host Texas A&M is going with an all-black alternate uniform get-up, complete with black helmets with a script “Aggies.” LSU, meanwhile, will be going with white helmets, a break from their traditional yellow lids.
ESPN’s five-member panel on “College GameDay” was almost evenly split when predicting the winner of the matchup between LSU and Texas A&M.
Nick Saban, Pat McAfee and Desmond Howard went with the Tigers while Lee Corso and celebrity guest-picker Kyle Schwarber picked the Aggies. Kirk Herbstreit abstained from making a selection as he’s calling the game tonight for ABC as an analyst.
The Tigers and Aggies will face off in a nationally televised matchup on ABC. Chris Fowler (play-by-play) and Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) will call the game from the booth while Holly Rowe will serve as the sideline reporter.
Streaming options for the game include the ESPN app with a cable login, ESPN+ and Fubo, the last of which offers a free trial to potential subscribers.
Watch LSU football vs Texas A&M live with Fubo (free trial)
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Cory Diaz, Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU 29, Texas A&M 25
“Either team will lead by more than one possession in this evenly-matched game, but the Tigers will put together another drive late to sink the Aggies at their place.”
Tony Catalina, Austin American-Statesman: Texas A&M 27, LSU 24
“With the emotion surrounding this matchup, home-field advantage and the way the Aggies have rallied together, A&M finds a way to pull out another thriller against their rival.”
Bill Bender, The Sporting News: LSU 31, Texas A&M 28
“Texas A&M is on a roll since the season-opening loss to Notre Dame. Garrett Nussmeier will have to be more efficient and avoid turnovers, and Caden Durham — who had 101 yards and three TDs in Week 8 — will need to generate a running game for the Tigers. The home team has won the last seven meetings in the series, but this LSU team is capable of winning on the road.“
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Friday, Oct. 25
Based off SEC’s Friday injury report update
LSU
Texas A&M
The Weather Channel is projecting “a few clouds” in the College Station area on Saturday night, with the low temperature getting down to 66 degrees. Winds will be blowing south-south east at five to 10 mph, with a 16% chance of rain.
REQUIRED READING:LSU football vs Texas A&M: Aggies expecting ‘electric’ atmosphere for home SEC showdown
Here’s a look at LSU’s 2024 football schedule, including available game times and TV channels:
All times Eastern
* Denotes SEC game
All times Eastern.
* Denotes SEC game
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