As No. 14 Texas A&M football has surged to a 6-1 record, it finds itself staring at a mirror image: the No. 8 LSU Tigers. Both teams fell in Week 1 to storied college programs but have responded with conviction by ripping off six-game win streaks to position themselves atop the SEC.
On Saturday, the Tigers will take on the Aggies at Kyle Field with the opportunity for both sides to bolster their College Football Playoff aspirations.
While both A&M and LSU have premier matchups looming in the future — No. 5 Texas and No. 15 Alabama, respectively — the result of Saturday’s game will clarify the rest of the season for both programs. With two losses likely being the maximum to still reach the College Football Playoff, the loser could face the daunting task of winning out.
“We are in a really good spot,” coach Mike Elko said. “We are in a really good opportunity, and we want to take advantage of where we are. A lot of times you see [that] on the rise up, you have to learn through failure. We are trying to not do that.”
The highly-anticipated matchup will mark the 58th meeting in the rivalry. LSU holds a 35-20-2 lead all-time, but the most recent six games have split evenly between the two college football titans.
LSU’s hot streak is in large part due to the success of redshirt junior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier. The 6-foot-2 pocket passer has bided his time to get the opportunity to lead the Tigers, first being stranded behind future A&M QB Max Johnson and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels. Now at the helm, Nussmeier has displayed poise and accuracy, averaging the most completions per game in the SEC.
“The quarterback is very special. He has a big arm,” junior safety Bryce Anderson said. “Their receiver corps is very special. I feel like it’s going to be one of the best, as a group, the best receiving corps that [A&M has] seen this season with [fifth year wide receiver Kyren] Lacy, [redshirt sophomore WR] Aaron Anderson. … We’re going to have to keep a top on the coverage and limit the big plays.”
A bevy of NFL-caliber talent surrounds the passer to form the nation’s eighth-best passing attack. Junior offensive lineman Will Campbell and junior OL Emery Jones Jr. bookend an offensive line that has given up the second-fewest sacks in the country while Lacy has hauled in six touchdowns, the second-most in the SEC.
As the Aggies’ defense has begun to flourish, it has been able to lean on an explosive pass rush to harass the opposing quarterback. With 11 sacks in the last three games, A&M has received contributions from stars like junior defensive end Nic Scourton and role players like Bowling Green transfer junior JACK Cashius Howell.
Against the Purple and Gold, A&M’s front faces its most imposing foe yet. If the Tigers can smother the Aggie pass rush, Nussmeier will have the time to pick apart the secondary and keep the Tigers in favorable down-to-go situations, further limiting the pass rush.
The focus on trench warfare is not limited to one side of the ball, as LSU boasts a high-level pass rush that has the seventh-most sacks in the nation. Dealing with questions around the health of sophomore left guard Chase Bisontis, junior right tackle Dametrious Crownover could draw the short straw of lining up across from the SEC’s second-best sack artist, senior defensive lineman Bradyn Swinson.
“We [knew] people [were] going to go down,” Crownover said. “We knew that. It was our goal for us to be like, ‘Oh, we lose somebody. Who’s next?’ Somebody’s got to be able to step up in that position and know their role that they’ve got to play and know how we want them to play and match our standard.”
The Maroon and White’s offense will look to bounce back and establish a level of consistency that has eluded it this season. Redshirt sophomore QB Conner Weigman’s one-touchdown and two-interception performance against Mississippi State was a microcosm of his entire season: flawless for stretches, but also costly mistakes that hold the team back.
Elko and offensive coordinator Collin Klein understand the importance of starting fast to rely on the road-grading run game that averages 219 yards per game. In games when the Aggies crack 150 yards on the ground, the offense averages 38 points, compared to just 22 points in games under that threshold. Winning the line of scrimmage is the recipe to success for either team in this matchup.
Under the lights of Kyle Field, the country’s eyes will be on the Aggies in the most anticipated matchup of the week. A&M has a simple task: Beat a blossoming LSU team — donning new black uniforms — and keep the hope of the ultimate goal alive.
“I’m very excited,” Anderson said. “Night games at Kyle Field are always electric. This is going to be even more electric knowing the atmosphere of the game and how much the game is going to mean. We’re dialed in. We’re locked in.”
