LSU Tigers crumble in College Station

SHARE NOW

With 8:33 seconds to go in the third quarter, 8th-ranked LSU was in control, up by ten points over 14th-ranked Texas A&M.

Tigers quarterback Garrett Nussmeier was outplaying Aggies QB Conner Weigman, as the LSU defense had allowed just 38 passing yards.

After some missed opportunities in the first half, the Tigers should have had a bigger lead, but as an LSU fan you were still thinking one more touchdown and then I can seriously start thinking about my Tigers playing in the SEC Title game.

But in sports, and many times in life, when you think you have it all figured out, something happens and everything changes.

That’s what occurred midway through the third quarter when Nussmeier threw the first of his career-high three interceptions.

The momentum shifted and the Aggies and the 108,000 fans inside Kyle Field overwhelmed the Tigers and went on to win 38-23 to stay undefeated in SEC play.

After the first interception, Texas A&M coach Mike Elko made the right move and replaced the struggling Conner Weigman at quarterback, with the more athletic Marcel Reed. It looked like the Tigers had never prepared for a running quarterback, even though they played one the week before in Arkansas’ Taylen Green.

Reed would rush for three touchdowns as the Aggies would run for a staggering 242 yards on the night.

“We played such good defense, for the first half it was so good to see our defense playing and then they go to a running quarterback, and it just goes away from us, so we know where have to get better at there,” said Kelly.

Kelly would later say they thought they were prepared based on how they held Green in check the week before and holding the Razorbacks to 38 yards rushing.

However, linebacker Greg Penn told reporters after the game they didn’t think Reed would come into the game, so it caught them off guard.

That’s a surprising statement because Reed has been a big part of this 7-and-1 Aggies team. Reed started three games this season when Weigman suffered a shoulder injury. And it’s also not like Weigman was on solid footing as A&M’s quarterback after throwing two interceptions the week before.

On November 9th, LSU will face another running quarterback in Jalen Milroe, they better be more prepared.

The Tigers also have two weeks to find a consistent running game.

One of the great mysteries is why they can’t have a consistent rushing attack. Granted, they are leaning on a freshman running back to do most of the work, but this is considered one of the best offensive lines in school history.

The lack of a running game nearly cost them against Ole Miss as the Tigers rushed for only 84 yards. It looked like they found something in Fayetteville when they ran for 158 yards, but against the Aggies they only rushed for 23 yards.

Part of the problem is that they don’t even try. LSU had 10 possessions in College Station on Saturday and attempted a pass every time they started a new drive.

“We did not get the kind of production that would keep a Garrett Nussmeier from having to stand on his freaking head at the quarterback position in making plays, he feels like he has to,” Kelly said.

It also didn’t seem like Nussmeier was the same after Will Campbell inadvertently stepped on his foot late in the second quarter. Nuss limped back to the locker room and his accuracy was off in the second half.

Field goal kicking was also off. Damien Ramos, who has been so consistent, missed two field goals. The holds were not perfect and there was also the snap in the third quarter from Slade Roy that hit an unexpecting Peyton Todd, the holder.

Kelly vowed in the postgame it would never happen again as it’s happened twice this season.

LSU has two losses and no more margin of error if they want to make the college football playoff.

Despite the meltdown against the Aggies, this is still a good team and in position to finish the regular season with a 10-2 record.

The Tigers learned a lot from their first loss to USC and learned a lot from this defeat to the Aggies.

Kelly knows what needs to be done.

“Offensively we need better balance, defensively we got to stop running quarterbacks, we got to clean up out special teams in the field goal areas, where we are making some mistakes, and as far as coaches we got to be there for our guys and have those adjustments handy for them so we can help them out,” Kelly said.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *