Ad Disclosure
Texas A&M defeated LSU 38-23 on Saturday night in College Station.
While the Aggies ended up with a multi-score win, it looked like LSU was in the driver’s seat for much of the evening. The Tigers took a 17-7 lead into the halftime break and were in a dominant position until about the 8-minute mark of the third quarter.
From that point on, Texas A&M out-scored LSU 31-6 to close out a win in this top-15 showdown. Here are 3 takeaways from this contest:
Marcel Reed takes over for Conner Weigman
Conner Weigman’s time as Texas A&M’s starter may be over. After a bad first half, the Aggies replaced Weigman with speedster Marcel Reed midway through the fourth quarter. That decision proved to be the difference as Reed led 5 consecutive scoring drives in the second half — and scored 3 rushing touchdowns himself.
Reed didn’t do much through the air, but he didn’t need to. He attempted just 2 passes after coming into the game, but still threw for 70 total yards.
Weigman has been inconsistent throughout most of his college career. With A&M’s offense firing on all cylinders with Reed in the game, it will be interesting to see how A&M handles things over the next few weeks.
LSU made too many mistakes
Part of the reason LSU was unable to put this game away was because of special teams mistakes. LSU went 1-for-3 on field goal attempts, missing from 48 and 49 yards. LSU also had another field goal attempt that was botched due to a premature snap in the second half (leading to Texas A&M’s go-ahead touchdown).
However, the biggest issues LSU had were on offense. After a nice start to the game, quarterback Garrett Nussmeier completely collapsed in the second half. He threw 3 interceptions after the break, which Reed was able to convert into 17 easy points.
Credit to Texas A&M for cashing in, but it would be accurate to say LSU beat itself in this contest at Kyle Field
Texas A&M’s Playoff path
Texas A&M is now 7-1 on the season and alone in first place atop the SEC standings as the calendar marches toward November. By all accounts, it’s been a remarkable start to Mike Elko’s tenure in College Station.
Texas A&M does have a quarterback situation to sort through, but the Aggies appear to be in great shape to make a potential College Football Playoff push. They have 4 games remaining and will likely be heavy favorites in 3 of them.
Texas A&M also gets to host No. 5 Texas in the final week of the regular season. It’s possible that game will have SEC title implications on the line along with bragging rights for the first edition of that rivalry game since 2011.
A&M will go on the road to face South Carolina next weekend.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
