Joel Klatt takes Texas A&M to win, cover at LSU

No. 3 Texas A&M, the last unbeaten team in the Southeastern Conference, will put its unblemished 7-0 record on the line this weekend against No. 20 LSU in Baton Rouge.

The two programs have played every season since 2011, beginning in the 2011 Cotton Bowl and carrying into Texas A&M’s transition into the SEC (2012-onward). In that frame, LSU has won 10 of the 14 matchups. A&M however won last season’s game 38-23 in College Station.

Ahead of the ranked matchup, FOX Sports‘ Joel Klatt made his prediction for the winner on the latest edition of ‘The Joel Klatt Show‘. Klatt is rolling with the Aggies not just to win, but to cover on the road in Baton Rouge.

“I don’t love taking road teams and I did it last week and maybe you guys should just fade all of these picks,” Klatt said. “But when I think about a score, I think about this matchup and in almost every phase, the advantage lies with Texas A&M. I’ve got to take the Aggies. I think Marcel Reed and Mike Elko go in and get a win in Death Valley 23-20 and cover the -2.5. The -2.5 is basically a pick ’em. I think A&M wins the game and they cover the -2.5.”

Points are usually put up in bunches when these two programs meet. Most famously, No. 22 Texas A&M held off No. 7 LSU 74-72 in a 2018 7OT classic, which led to the sport changing its overtime rules. In the 14 games played between the two programs since 2011, the winner has scored at least 30 points in seven games.

Rece Davis declares Texas A&M game a ‘last stand’ for LSU

With LSU sitting at 5-2, ESPN‘s Rece Davis tabbed this game as a ‘last stand’ for the Tigers pertaining to their College Football Playoff chances. With matchups against A&M, No. 4 Alabama and No. 13 Oklahoma remaining on their schedule, winning out is likely the only way they could clinch their first CFP berth since 2019.

“This is a last stand for LSU,” Davis said on the ‘College GameDay Podcast‘. “It doesn’t mean that they won’t win another game if they don’t win that. But it’s a last stand in terms of relevance. It started the season top-five, had a guy that many assumed would be in contention to be the first overall pick in the NFL Draft at quarterback and had year two of a defense that has been good. (Diego) Pavia made them look less good on Saturday than they had been. Everything was in line, but now they’ve lost two games.

“But, we’ve talked about how you have to get used to the new dynamic in college football. Ohio State is a prime example last year. Lost a couple of games last year and all seemed lost, but it ripped through and won a National Championship. We haven’t seen any indication from LSU that it could happen, but mathematically and skill-wise they’re still really good. This is a last stand type game.”

Kick-off for this weekend’s top-25 matchup in Baton Rouge is scheduled for 7:30 PM ET. The game can be seen on ABC.

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