Game preview: LSU's offense vs. Texas A&M's defense
AggieYell.com’s breakdown of the matchup between No. 3 Texas A&M (7-0, 4-0 SEC) and No. 20 LSU (5-2, 2-2 SEC) continues with a look at the Tigers offense vs. the Aggie defense.
Where, when, weather and TV:
Where: Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, La.
When: 6:30 p.m. central time, Saturday, Oct. 25
Weather: Rain and thunderstorms likely, temperature in the mid-70s
TV: ABC (Chris Fowler, play-by-play; Kirk Herbstreit, analyst; Holly Rowe, sideline)
LSU offensive depth chart
QB: #18, Garrett Nussmeier (6-1, 205, RS-Sr.)
#11, Michael Van Buren Jr. (6, 190, So.-TR.)
RB: #29, Caden Durham (5-9, 205, So.)
#22, Harlem Berry (5-11, 190, Fr.)
TE: #10, Bauer Sharp, (6-5, 246, RS-Sr.-TR.) OR #14, Trey’Dez Green (6-7, 240, So.)
#88, Donovan Green (6-4, 250, RS-Jr.-TR.)
WR (X): #0, Zavion Thomas (5-10, 192, Sr.-TR.)
#4, Nic Anderson (6-4, 208, RS-Jr.-TR.)
WR (Z): #6, Barion Brown (5-11, 185, Sr.-TR.)
#3, Chris Hilton Jr. (6, 190, RS-Sr.)
WR (W): #1, Aaron Anderson (5-8, 188, RS-Jr.-TR.)
#12, Kyle Parker (5-11, 195, RS-So.)
LT: #71, Tyree Adams (6-7, 310, RS-So.)
#79, DJ Chester (6-6, 315, RS-So.)
#57, Carius Curne (6-5, 320, Fr.)
LG: #65, Paul Mubenga (6-5, 317, RS-So.)
#78, Cohen Echols (6-4, 315, RS-Fr.)
C: #61, Braelin Moore (6-2, 300, RS-Jr.-TR.)
#79, DJ Chester (6-6, 315, RS-So.)
RG: #56, Josh Thompson (6-5, 315, RS-Sr.-TR.)
#67, Bo Bordelon (6-6, 305, RS-Jr.)
RT: #75, Weston Davis (6-7, 317, RS-Fr.)
#77, Ory Williams (6-8, 335, RS-Fr.)
LSU statistical leaders
Passing: Nussmeier, 154-232 (66.3%), 1,638 yards, 11 TD, 5 INT
Van Buren, 10-12, 122 yards, 1 TD
Rushing: Durham, 74 carries, 342 yards (4.6 YPC), 2 TD
Berry, 37 carries, 166 yards (4.5 YPC), 1 TD
Ju’Juan Johnson, 28 carries, 135 yards (4.8 YPC), 2 TD
Receiving: Anderson, 24 catches, 323 yards (13.5 YPC)
Brown, 32 catches, 301 yards (9.4 YPC), 1 TD
Thomas, 19 catches, 259 yards (13.6 YPC), 2 TD
Texas A&M defensive depth chart
DE: #50, Dayon Hayes (6-3, 264, Gr.) OR #18, TJ Searcy (6-5, 255, Jr.)
#30 Solomon Williams (6-1, 250, RS-Fr.) OR #92 Sam M’Pemba (6-3, 252, RS-So.)
DT: #5, DJ Hicks (6-3, 295, Jr.) OR #11, Tyler Onyedim (6-3, 295, Gr.) OR #17, Albert Regis (6-1, 317, Gr.)
#55, Dealyn Evans (6-4, 314, RS-Fr.) OR #99, Landon Rink (6-2, 294, Fr.)
NT: #17, Albert Regis (6-1, 317, Gr.) OR #5, DJ Hicks (6-3, 295, Jr.) OR #11, Tyler Onyedim (6-3, 295, Gr.)
#88, DJ Sanders (6-3, 315, Fr.) OR #99, Landon Rink (6-2, 294, Fr.)
DT: #11, Tyler Onyedim (6-3, 295, Gr.) OR #17 Albert Regis (6-1, 317, Gr.) OR #5, DJ Hicks (6-3, 295, Jr.)
#59, Chace Sims (6-3, 294, Fr.) OR #99 Landon Rink, (6-2, 294, Fr.)
JACK: #9, Cashius Howell (6-2, 248, R-Sr.)
#15, Rylan Kennedy (6-3, 239, RS-So.) OR #10, Marco Jones (6-5, 258, Fr.) OR #92, Sam M’Pemba (6-3, 252, RS-So.)
LB: #21, Taurean York (5-10, 227, Jr.)
#54, Jordan Lockhart (6-1, 229, So.) OR #27 Daymion Sanford (6-2, 222, Jr.)
LB: #0, Scooby Williams (6-2, 230, Sr.)
#27, Daymion Sanford (6-2, 222, Jr.) OR #23, Noah Mikhail (6-2, 223, Fr.)
NICKEL: #7 Tyreek Chappell (5-11, 180, RS-Sr.)
#19, Bravion Rogers (5-11, 188, Jr.) OR #8, Jordan Shaw (5-11, 182, RS-So.) OR #14, Jayvon Thomas (5-11, 196, Jr.)
CB: #4, Will Lee III (6-1, 189, Sr.)
#6, Julio Humphrey (6-1, 195, R-Jr.)
#14, Jayvon Thomas (5-11, 196, Jr.)
CB: #2, Dezz Ricks (6-1, 188, R-So.)
#6, Julio Humphrey (6-1, 195, R-Jr.)
#20, Adonyss Currie (6-0, 174, Fr.)
S: #1, Bryce Anderson (5-10, 186, Sr.)
#29, Myles Davis (6-1, 196, So.) OR #13, Rashad “Tom Tom” Johnson Jr. (6-1, 198, Fr.)
S: #25, Dalton Brooks (6-0, 193, Jr.) OR #3 Marcus Ratcliffe (6-2, 209, Jr.)
#33, Jarred Kerr (5-11, 190, Sr.)
#13, Rashad “Tom Tom” Johnson Jr. (6-1, 198, Fr.)
Texas A&M defensive statistical leaders
Tackles: York, 41
Ratcliffe, 40
Lee and Sanford, 32
Tackles for loss: Howell, 8.5
Sanford, 6.5
Hicks and Hayes, 4.5
Sacks: Howell, 8
Hayes, 3.5
Sanford, 2.5
Interceptions: Scooby Williams and Sanford, 1
Forced fumbles: Seven players with 1
Fumble recoveries: M’Pemba, York, Brooks and Hayes, 1
Injury update
LSU: LT Tyree Adams (ankle) is out.
Texas A&M: Safeties Bryce Anderson and Tom Tom Johnson are out.
Head to head: LSU’s offense vs. Texas A&M’s defense
| Category | LSU | National/SEC rank | Category | Texas A&M | National/SEC rank |
| Scoring offense | 25.6 PPG | 85th/12th | Scoring defense | 23.4 PPG | 61st/13th |
| Total offense | 366.6 YPG | 82nd/12th | Total defense | 327.7 YPG | 37th/7th |
| Rushing offense | 112.9 YPG | 116th/15th | Rushing defense | 126.9 YPG | 46th/9th |
| Passing offense | 253.7 YPG | 48th/6th | Passing defense | 200.8 YPG | 45th/9th |
| First downs | 146 | 66th/10th | First downs defense | 121 | 33rd/7th |
| Third down conversion percentage | 42% | 53rd/10th | Third down conversion defense | 23% | 2nd/1st |
| Red zone percentage | 80% | 91st/13th | Red zone defense | 95.5% | 125th/16th |
| Sacks allowed per game | 1.3 | 33rd/5th | Sacks per game | 3.57 | 6th/3rd |
| Tackles for loss allowed per game | 5 | 56th/8th | Tackles for loss per game | 7.9 | 6th/2nd |
| Turnovers | 8 | 55th/7th | Turnovers forced | 6 | 95th/10th |
| Turnover +/- | +2 | 46/7th | Turnover +/- | +1 | 58th/9th |
| Time of possession | 30:03 | 67th/9th | Time of possession | 32:28 | 16th/4th |
What LSU wants to do
Find ways to actually move the football, especially on the ground. LSU observers say that the running game has improved the last couple of weeks, as they ran for exactly 100 yards against Vanderbilt. A&M, on a relatively average running night against Arkansas, ran for 217. Durham had 59 of the 100 yards against Vandy, and 51 of those came on one play. So, you take away that one run and they averaged 2.5 yards per carry.
The fault isn’t Durham’s or Berry’s; it’s the offensive line, which has been really bad this year. Not only are the Tigers 116th in rushing, but Nussmeier has had to throw a lot of really quick passes to avoid pressure. As a result, LSU is ranked 102nd in the nation in yards per completion at 10.8.
And that’s with starting tackle Tyree Adams in the game. He will miss Saturday night.
LSU’s defense is good enough to keep them in the game, but if the offense can’t move the ball, they’ll wear down. Nussmeier is probably going to have to keep the quick game going with passes to Anderson, Brown and Thomas, try to get the monstrous Trey’Dez Green down the seam and try to do a little bit of misdirection to get some deeper passes going.
And they absolutely must have the running game have its best performance of the year. LSU has not held onto the ball well this year in terms of time of possession, and they can’t afford a repeat of last week, when Vandy held onto the ball for 13 minutes more than the Tigers.
Against FBS opponents, LSU has averaged less than 21 points per game in scoring. 21 points against A&M, which has surpassed 30 points in every game but one, won’t do it. LSU’s offense needs to take several steps up Saturday night.
How the Aggies may want to counter
I’ve used this phrase a few times and it’s common football parlance, but win first down in order to win third down. LSU’s run offense, as we’ve already mentioned, has been horrible. If the Aggies can come out and limit the running game on first down, LSU becomes one-dimensional. And then A&M can release the hounds…err, defensive ends.
The two bad games A&M has had against the run (where they’re not messing with combinations) were against Arkansas and Notre Dame. Arkansas’ running game is elite (14th nationally) and Notre Dame is upper echelon (35th). LSU has talent at running back, but it hasn’t translated. The Aggie coaching staff has been all over the defense to be smarter against the run, as their blunders allowed a lot of open spaces for Mike Washington and Taylen Green to run through.
Garrett Nussmeier (and, for that matter, Michael Van Buren) are not Taylen Green. The real threat in the run game is with the backs. Stuff them early and LSU finds itself in a position it doesn’t want to be in right now, where it has to throw heavily. Adams’ replacement at left tackle, DJ Chester, was battered by Vanderbilt’s defensive ends last weekend. Right tackle Weston Davis has not been good either, and now they’ve got to deal with Cashius Howell, a suddenly hot Dayon Hayes and a more confident Marco Jones, who had 3 tackles and a sack last weekend.
LSU throws a lot of short passes, and if A&M gets pressure as they can, they’ll likely have to do that again. I could see A&M playing a lot of zone behind the pass rush and then attacking LSU’s receivers as the ball comes out. But they cannot miss tackles on a potentially slick surface, because all of these guys are potential home run threats.
A&M wants to play smart defensively, fill gaps and control the line of scrimmage. If they can do that, as they have in three of the four SEC games, then LSU will have to throw behind a battered offensive line.
