Sometimes things fall apart.
That’s what happened to LSU in College Station on Saturday night. Mistakes haunted LSU as the Tigers watched the game unravel in the third quarter. Texas A&M seized the momentum and won 38-23.
Sole possession of first place in the SEC was on the line. A&M now sits atop the conference while LSU falls to 3-1 in conference play and 6-2 on the year. The loss halted a six-game win streak for LSU and put the Tigers’ playoff hopes on life support.
The night was full of frustrations for LSU. The Tigers moved the ball, but too many drives stalled out on A&M’s side of the field. LSU had to settle for field goal attempts, but the night was marred by special teams mistakes.
Every component of the field goal unit struggled. Ramos missed kicks, the holds were bad, and LSU long snapper Slade Roy fired one off too early.
LSU left something on the table. There’s no other way to put it. Here are five takeaways from the loss.
Nussmeier leads the unraveling with three picks
The first half was some of Garrett Nussmeier’s best football. The second half was the polar opposite.
Nussmeier’s accuracy began to falter and the situation was made worse by poor decisions with the football.
LSU went three and out on its opening drive of the second half. On the second drive, Nussmeier was trying to make a play and threw the ball up. It was picked off in LSU territory and A&M cut into the lead shortly after.
Later, another Nussmeier pick set A&M up to take the lead. Then in the fourth, an Aggie interception all but sealed it.
Nussmeier has nine picks on the year now. That puts his average at one per game. LSU will struggle to win games if it’s putting the ball in jeopardy like this.
LSU failed to put Aggies away when it had the chance
Things were looking bright in the first half. A long catch and run from Aaron Anderson put LSU up 17-7.
LSU was moving the ball and the LSU defense wasn’t giving up much. The Tigers looked like the better team — like a team taking yet another step forward after last week’s 34-10 win. But that wasn’t the case.
The stalled drives and missed field goals in the first half kept A&M in the game and allowed the Aggies to find life in the second half.
It was pointed out on the broadcast, but it was reminiscent of LSU’s week one loss. LSU was in a position to take a kill shot but missed.
LSU couldn’t run the ball
After a few weeks of progress, LSU couldn’t run the ball on Saturday night. Caden Durham and Josh Williams both got chances, but neither could gain steam.
A&M’s front presented a challenge to LSU. The Aggies have several future pros on the defensive line and LSU couldn’t get any push. Senior guard Garrett Dellinger exiting the game with an injury didn’t help.
We can debate whether the blame lies with coaching, personnel or execution. The fact of the matter is we’re eight games into the season and LSU can’t run the ball.
It’s hard to go on the road and win in the SEC if you can’t run it. LSU doesn’t need the same production it got last year, but it needs more than it’s getting now.
A&M turns to Reed in the second half
LSU pressured Connor Weigman throughout the first half. A&M was getting some yards in the run game, but the passing attack was a nonfactor.
A&M’s answer: QB Marcel Reed.
Aggies’ OC Colin Klein went all in on the option attack and Reed’s rushing ability. Holes started to open up and A&M did what it wanted on the ground.
Blake Baker and the LSU defense had nothing. Even if there was an answer, LSU was failing to execute. The Tigers were missing tackles and getting driven off the ball.
LSU wasn’t prepared for Texas A&M’s physicality in the second half.
Where does LSU go from here?
At 6-2, LSU is still in the playoff race, even if help is needed. A 10-2 SEC team has a chance to find its way in but the margin for error is nonexistent.
LSU will have to win out. That includes beating Alabama, going on the road to Florida, and potentially tricky games with Vanderbilt and Oklahoma.
As far as the SEC race goes, going through all the potential tiebreak solutions is pointless at the moment. That’ll sort itself out in the coming weeks.
This loss is a disappointment, especially with the optimism surrounding LSU in recent weeks. LSU isn’t a title contender right now.
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