Game Preview: Texas A&M's offense vs. LSU'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) begins with a look at the Aggie offense against the Tigers 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)
How they got here:
Texas A&M (7-0, 4-0)
Beat UTSA 42-24
Beat Utah State 44-22
Beat Notre Dame 41-40
Beat Auburn 16-10
Beat Mississippi State 31-9
Beat Florida 34-17
Beat Arkansas 45-42
LSU (5-2, 2-2)
Beat Clemson 17-10
Beat Louisiana Tech 23-7
Beat Florida 20-10
Beat Southeast Louisiana 56-10
Lost to Ole Miss 24-19
Beat South Carolina 20-10
Lost to Vanderbilt 31-24
Texas A&M offensive depth chart
QB: #10, Marcel Reed (6-1, 185, R-So.)
#16, Miles O’Neill (6-5, 220, R-Fr.)
#13, Brady Hart (6-4, 195, Fr.) OR #9, Jacob Zeno (6-2, 215, Gr.)
RB: #8, Le’Veon Moss (5-11, 210, Sr.)
#4, Rueben Owens II (5-11, 215, R-So.)
#5, Amari Daniels (5-8, 197, R-Sr.) OR #23, Jamarion Morrow (5-9, 205, Fr.) OR #22, EJ Smith (5-11, 211, Gr.)
WR: #7, KC Concepcion (5-11, 190, Jr.)
#18, TK Norman (6-0, 182, Fr.)
WR: #1, Mario Craver (5-9, 165, So.) OR #2, Terry Bussey (5-10, 195, So.)
#0, Izaiah Williams (5-11, 185, R-Fr.)
WR: #3, Ashton Bethel-Roman (6-0, 185, R-Fr.) OR #2, Terry Bussey (5-10, 195, So.)
#11, Kelshaun Johnson (5-11, 168, Fr.)
TE: #17, Theo Melin Öhrström (6-6, 257, R-Jr.) OR #87, Nate Boerkircher (6-4, 250, Gr.) OR #84, Amari Niblack (6-3, 235, Sr.)
#88, Micah Riley (6-5, 257, R-Jr.)
#21, Kiotti Armstrong (6-5, 275, Fr.)
LT: #60, Trey Zuhn III (6-6, 319, Gr.) OR #76, Reuben Fatheree (6-7, 333, Gr.)
#79, Lamont Rogers (6-6, 337, Fr.)
LG: #71, Chase Bisontis (6-5, 315, Jr.)
#73, Ashton Funk (6-6, 322, R-Fr.) OR #77, Tyler Thomas (6-4, 329, Fr.)
C: #54, Mark Nabou (6-3, 322, R-So.) OR #60, Trey Zuhn III (6-6, 319, Gr.)
#61, Koli Faaiu (6-3, 333, Sr.)
RG: #55, Ar’maj Reed-Adams (6-5, 325, Gr.)
#52, Blake Ivy (6-3, 336, R-Fr.)
RT: #78, Dametrious Crownover (6-7, 336, Gr.)
#70, Robert Bourdon (6-6, 318, R-Fr.)
Texas A&M offensive statistical leaders
Passing: Reed, 125-202 (61.9%), 1,770 yards, 15 TD, 4 INT
O’Neill, 4-7, 101 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Owens, 70 carries, 396 yards (5.7 YPC), 3 TD
Moss, 70 carries, 389 yards (5.6 YPC), 6 TD
Reed, 51 carries, 241 yards (4.7 YPC), 4 TD
Receiving: Craver, 36 catches, 674 yards (18.7 YPC), 4 TD
Concepcion, 33 catches, 500 yards (15.2 YPC), 6 TD
Bethel-Roman, 9 catches, 169 yards (18.8 YPC), 1 TD
LSU defensive depth chart
DE: #44, Jack Pyburn (6-4, 264, Sr.-TR.)
#12, Jimari Butler (6-5, 265, Gr.-TR.)
DT: #96, Dominick McKinley (6-6, 308, So.)
#90, Jacobian Guillory II (6-2, 318, Gr.)
DT: #88, Bernard Gooden (6-1, 268, RS-Sr.-TR.)
#16, Ahmad Breaux (6-3, 278, So.)
DE: #6, Patrick Payton (6-6, 266, RS-SR.-TR.)
#97, Dylan Carpenter (6-4, 255, RS-So.)
WILL: #40, Whit Weeks (6-2, 225, Jr.)
#46, Tylen Singleton (6-1, 226, RS-Fr.)
MIKE: #33, West Weeks (6-2, 235, Gr.-TR.)
#42, Davhon Keys (6, 230, So.)
STAR: #7, Harold Perkins Jr. (6-1, 222, RS-Jr.)
#10, Dashawn Spears (6-3, 208, So.)
CB: #4, Mansoor Delane (6, 190, Sr.-TR.)
#8, Ja’Keem Jackson (6, 190, RS-So.-TR.)
SS: #13, A.J. Haulcy (6, 222, Sr.-TR.)
#2, Jardin Gilbert (6-1, 193, RS-Sr.-TR.)
FS: #0, Tamarcus Cooley (6, 198, RS-So.-TR.)
#25, Javien Toviano (6-1, 197, Jr.)
CB: #11, PJ Woodland (5-11,165, So.)
#3, DJ Pickett (6-5, 195, Fr.)
LSU defensive statistical leaders
Tackles: Haulcy, 51
Keys and West Weeks, 44
Cooley, 36
Tackles for loss: West Weeks, 4.5
Perkins and Pyburn, 3.5
Gooden, 3
Sacks: Perkins and Damien Shanklin, 2
Four players with 1.5
Interceptions: Spears and Cooley, 2
Four players with 1
Forced fumbles: Haulcy and Gooden, 1
Fumble recoveries: Whit Weeks and Payton, 1
Injury update
Texas A&M: RB Le’Veon Moss (ankle) is out.
LSU: DE Gabriel Reliford (shoulder) is out.
LB Whit Weeks (shin) is doubtful.
DT Bernard Gooden (shoulder) is questionable.
DE Jimari Butler is probable.
Head to head: Texas A&M’s offense vs. LSU’s defense
| Category | Texas A&M | National/SEC rank | Category | LSU | National/SEC rank |
| Scoring offense | 36.1 PPG | 27th/6th | Scoring defense | 14.6 PPG | 10th/3rd |
| Total offense | 464 YPG | 17th/5th | Total defense | 311.6 YPG | 26th/5th |
| Rushing offense | 196.7 YPG | 30th/7th | Rushing defense | 122 YPG | 41st/8th |
| Passing offense | 267.3 YPG | 35th/5th | Passing defense | 189.6 YPG | 32nd/6th |
| First downs | 163 | 28th/8th | First downs allowed | 126 | 43rd/10th |
| 3rd down conversion percentage | 39.6% | 72nd/12th | 3rd down conversion percentage defense | 33.7% | 31st/6th |
| Red zone percentage | 96.3% | 9th/3rd | Red zone defense | 78.6% | 32nd/4th |
| Sacks allowed per game | 1 | 15th/2nd | Sacks per game | 2.43 | 33rd/8th |
| Tackles for loss allowed per game | 2.71 | 1st nationally | Tackles for loss per game | 5.1 | 84th/9th |
| Turnovers | 5 | 12th/3rd | Turnovers forced | 10 | 38th/8th |
| Turnover +/- | +1 | 58th/9th | Turnover +/- | +2 | 46th/7th |
| Time of possession | 32:28 | 15th/4th | Time of possession | 30:03 | 67th/9th |
What A&M wants to do
If the weather forecast remains as lousy as it looks right now — or maybe, especially if the forecast stays lousy — the Aggies are probably going to go right at LSU with the running game. The last two opponents, South Carolina and Vanderbilt, ran the ball extremely effectively against the Tigers. Vanderbilt is a very good rushing team (21st nationally), while South Carolina…is not (120th).
The Aggies, as we know, are 30th in rushing, so a lot closer to Vandy than the Gamecocks (man, it’s wild to say that and it be a positive). Rueben Owens and EJ Smith both ran well against Arkansas as the Aggies picked up 217 rushing yards (should have been 274) at 6.2 yards per carry. Unlike last year, A&M did not see a dropoff in production without Le’Veon Moss, even though Arkansas frequently had eight or nine guys in the box.
If the weather is bad, there will be more jet sweeps for the receivers as well as a lot of opportunities for the offensive line to lean on a surprisingly svelte LSU defensive front. Losing Reliford, who was supposed to be a big part of the puzzle at defensive end, hurts. Not having Gooden at 100% is a problem.
So let’s say the weather is decent enough to throw the ball. LSU’s corners are good to outstanding, with Mansoor being an eraser against most receivers. I suspect he’ll draw Craver or Concepcion, so that will complicate things. But we know what Bussey and Bethel-Roman can do, so they may see more targets this Saturday night. One thing the Aggies will do — try to force Perkins into coverage. He’s a good pass rusher and strong against the run, but when he’s 222 pounds and essentially playing nickel…well, teams have gone after him in the passing game.
If the weather does suck, that doesn’t necessarily mean the passing game is off the table. It may mean a lot of quick game, like we saw against UTSA in the opener. If Reed can get the ball to the receivers quickly on short routes, they’ll have the advantage.
Two of the most important things for the Aggies: run the RPO game really well, and that includes getting Reed more involved than he’s been so far this year. Also, don’t turn the ball over. LSU’s offense is inefficient and benefits from short fields. If the Aggies can avoid those, that will be a huge advantage.
How LSU may counter
Throw absolutely everything at the running game, especially if it rains.
Even though the Aggies have been really effective throwing the ball this season, LSU would much rather play against the pass than see one running play after another. Their numbers in SEC play have gotten worse by the week, with Vandy running for 239 yards at 5.3 yards a carry. They couldn’t get Vanderbilt working from behind the sticks much at all, and that’s why the Commodores only punted twice the entire game. Vandy held onto the ball for more than 36 minutes, winning the time of possession by more than 13. Now, here comes a team that has ground four straight SEC defenses into the ground with one long drive after another.
Short version: get someone watching Reed, crowd the box and blitz a lot. Try to stop the running game on first down and get A&M in a passing situation. LSU has the corners to play a lot of man, and they’ll likely be extremely aggressive and look to force Reed into mistakes and turnovers. Without Whit Weeks, LSU is short one of their rangier tacklers. Still, I’d blitz Perkins as much as humanly possible, run or pass. See if he can disrupt the offense with his speed.
LSU is in a tough spot after being gashed by the run the last couple of weeks. They can either play it passive or come after A&M, and I would expect them to be very aggressive.
