GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – In one half of football, LSU performed a full body flop and lost in disastrous fashion, 38-23, to Texas A&M in front of 108,852 at Kyle Field.
And just before it was all over, the A&M loudspeakers played, “Callin’ Baton Rouge.”
They might not have gotten an answer.
The No. 8 Tigers (6-2, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) could not negotiate the simple center-to-holder snap for field goals throughout the night, and quarterback Garrett Nussmeier threw a career-high three interceptions – all in the second half – as LSU completely went off the rails.
The Tigers rushed for a pitiful 24 yards on 23 carries, as they had no choice but Nussmeier passing.
The No. 14 Aggies (7-1, 5-0 SEC) became the SEC’s only team undefeated in league play by erasing a 17-7 halftime deficit because coach Mike Elko replacedg starting quarterback Conner Weigman with freshman Marcel Reed.
And Reed thoroughly flabbergasted LSU’s once-improving defense over and over in the second half.
The Aggies, who trailed 10-0 in the first quarter and appeared on the verge of being out of it, took a 21-17 lead with a minute to play in the third quarter on an 8-yard touchdown run by Reed, who gained 32 yards on three carries on the drive. He replaced Weigman midway in the third quarter, and turned the game around. Weigman couldn’t handle LSU’s pass rush and was just 6-of-18 passing for 64 yards.
Reed finished with 62 rushing yards and three touchdowns on nine carries. He completed 2 of 2 passes for 70 yards. The Aggies decimated LSU’s rush defense, gaining 242 yards on 49 carries.
That A&M go-ahead scoring drive started on the LSU 40-yard line after the Tigers had lined up for a 46-yard field goal for what could have given them a 20-14 lead in the third quarter. But an episode of Football Follies ensued instead.
LSU holder Peyton Todd inexplicably never caught the field goal snap. His back was turned away from LSU’s line and toward kicker Damian Ramos, whom he was talking to when the ball was snapped. The snap hit Todd on his far shoulder and bounced away before he finally turned around and looked toward LSU’s line to see what was going on. And the Aggies took over on their 40-yard line.
Texas A&M took a 28-17 lead at the 14:07 mark of the fourth quarter on a 4-yard touchdown run by Reed to finish a 26-yard drive in five plays. Nussmeier set that score up with his second interception to cornerback BJ Mayes from deep in his territory in the second half.
LSU cut it it to 28-23 with 9:57 to play on a 1-yard sneak by Nussmeier to complete a 78-yard drive in nine plays, but Nussmeier threw incomplete on a 2-point conversion attempt.
Then the Tigers’ defense folded on the very next possession as the Aggies drove 75 yards in four plays to take a commanding 35-23 advantage with 8:09 to play on a 3-yard touchdown run by tailback Le’Veon Moss of Baton Rouge. Reed completed a 54-yard pass over the middle to wide open wide receiver Noah Thomas to the 21-yard line. Reed rushed for 12 yards, then six to set up the touchdown.
Texas A&M drew within 17-14 with 8:10 to play in the third quarter on an 8-yard run by Reed on his first play after replacing Weigman. Nussmeier’s first interception to Mayes set that score up. On 3rd-and-2 from LSU’s 21-yard line, Mayes picked off Nussmeier and returned it 27 yards to the 8.
The Tigers appeared on the verge of putting the game away after taking a 17-7 lead with 4:56 to play in the first half on a 76-yard touchdown catch and run up the middle of the Aggies’ secondary by wide receiver Aaron Anderson on a pass from Nussmeier.
And LSU could have led by more going into the half, but Ramos missed a 49-yard field goal with 2:46 left before half after missing a 49-yard kick early in the second quarter. He was short on both, and each time it appeared that Todd didn’t place the ball correctly.
LSU outgained the Aggies 283 yards to 147 in the first half as Nussmeier completed 14 of 26 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns. The running game did little as tailback Caden Durham gained just 10 yards on six carries, and Josh Williams managed only 14 on five rushes.
The Tigers took a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, moving 87 yards in 11 plays for a 23-yard field goal by Ramos. LSU reached a 1st-and-Goal at the A&M 7-yard line, but could not score a touchdown.
LSU went up 10-0 with 3:51 to play in the first quarter on a 2-yard TD pass from Nussmeier to tight end Mason Taylor. But that was only after A&M’s Moss fumbled following an 11-yard reception from a hit by safety Sage Ryan. Safety Jardin Gilbert recovered at the A&M 36-yard line, and the Tigers got another 15 yards to the 21 after a personal foul against the Aggies.
Texas A&M cut LSU’s lead to 10-7 with :07 remaining in the first quarter on a 7-yard TD run by Moss to finish a 75-yard drive in nine plays.
The Aggies won their fourth straight over LSU here.
And they cued up A&M graduate Robert Earl Keen’s “The Party Never Ends.”
LSU’s party, meanwhile, was just getting started. Then Marcel Reed entered the game and turned out the lights.
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