No. 5 LSU fell to Texas A&M 38-23 on Saturday night in one of the most shocking results of Rivalry Week. The defeat in College Station, Texas, marked the Tigers' third of the season, ruining any chances they had of making the College Football Playoff despite entering the game as the first team out of the four-team field.
The Aggies owned this contest from the outset. Star running back Devon Achane scored from 10 yards out to cap a 10-play, 90-yard drive midway through the first quarter that gave Texas A&M a lead it never relinquished. Achane rushed for 211 yards and scored two touchdowns in an incredible effort that will likely be the junior's last game with the program.
LSU RB John Emery Jr. scored his second touchdown of the game to draw it even at 17 early in the third quarter, but any momentum that the Tigers had gained quickly disappeared when defensive back Demani Richardson returned a fumble by LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels 27 yards for the go-ahead score. Aggies QB Conner Weigman hit Moose Muhammed III for a 21-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it a two-score game, and Achane punched in his second touchdown run on their next possession to build the 21-point lead.
LSU battled back to make it a 15-point game late in the fourth quarter, but WR Jaray Jenkins couldn't haul in a pass from Daniels in the back of the end zone on fourth-and-14 with 2:37 remaining. Achane finished the Tigers on the Aggies' next possession to put the game away.
LSU's defense should be embarrassed
The Tigers had been relatively solid defensively all year. They entered the game having given up just 340.3 yards per game and 20 points per game. Linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. emerged as a star-in-the-making, and coach Brian Kelly gave fans hope that it would be the foundation of the program for years to come. And then Texas A&M came along.
The most points Texas A&M has scored in any game this year was 31, and it came in Week 1 in the shutout of Sam Houston. Texas A&M matched that number with 14:54 to play in the fourth quarter. The Aggies came in averaging 355 yards per game, and put up 429 against the Tigers. On what planet does any of this make sense? Earth, apparently.
Texas A&M needed this win
It has been a miserable, miserable season in College Station, Texas. The Aggies were picked to finish second in the SEC West by voters at SEC Media Days in July but fell flat on their face before the leaves changed colors. They lost star receiver Ainias Smith to season-ending injury in late September, its top two quarterbacks before November and its offensive line couldn't get it together for the majority of the season. Things changed on Saturday.
Sophomore Moose Muhammed III caught five passes for 94 yards and a touchdown, highly touted freshman receiver Evan Stewart added four catches for 42 yards and Weigman, the true freshman signal caller who was thrust into action in early November, completed 67% of his passes in a two-touchdown effort.
This gives Texas A&M hope for the future. It won't be the kind of hope that will warrant national title expectations or even hope that a division title will be within reach. But it does renew just a little bit of hope in an offense that had been stagnant all season under coach Jimbo Fisher.
LSU couldn't handle the pressure
It's almost as if LSU's identity completely changed once it beat Alabama. Sure, it clinched the SEC West the following week, but this team seemed to be in panic mode from the outset in the very sloppy 13-10 win over an average Arkansas team. It followed it up with a win over UAB, which doesn't count for much. Against Texas A&M, it appeared to be in panic mode once again.
From the moment Achane scored to give Texas A&M the 7-0 lead, it looked like the pressure was too much for LSU to handle. The Tigers looked sloppy, uninspired and played not to lose rather than playing to win. It was a complete 180-degree change from the team that played fast and loose in the overtime win over Alabama, came back from a 17-point deficit at Auburn and nearly came back from 14 down in the fourth quarter against Florida State in the opener prior to the blocked extra point that ended its chance at a comeback.
Simply put, LSU couldn't handle the target on its back, and it showed against the Aggies.