Game Recap: LSU Narrowly Defeats Texas A&M Football

Henderson found David Bailey on a drag route to pick up the first down inside the five on the first play of the second quarter. A short run by Bailey moved the Aggies to the two, and an outside run by Moss found the end zone; the Aggies tied things up at 7.

LSU started things off with a one yard run by Noah Cain, and an incomplete pass to Nabers, who was covered well by Chappell, brought up third and 9. Edgerrin Cooper and Jacoby Mathews were too much for the LSU front on third down, and Jayden Daniels went down for a 7 yard sack. That was two three and outs in three drives for the Tigers. Ainias received the ensuing punt at the 35, where Texas A&M football would begin their next drive.

Henderson’s first pass fell incomplete on a rollout play, but Owens picked up 10 on 2nd down. They gave it right back to him, but he only found one yard on the ensuing play. Another Owens run gained about 6, and a great pass by Henderson to Moose picked up the first down. Another first down run led to a TFL as LSU run blitzed, but Noah Thomas picked up about 8 on second. Another run on third picked up only one yard, and the Aggies were forced to kick; Randy was good from 48 to give the Aggies a 10-7 lead.

Randy Bond’s kickoff sailed out of bounds and gave the Tigers a favorable start. Daniels looked to have a first down throw to Lacy, but Harmon knocked it loose. Daniels scrambled on second, and a little extra by Richardson on the end of the play gave the Tigers a free 15. A shot play to the end zone on the next play fell incomplete, but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway; offensive holding moved the Tigers back 10 yards. The play may have cost the Tigers in another respect as well, as Malik Nabers, who dove with a full extension to try and bring in the pass, was shaken up and went down. On the next play, Daniels scrambled free to pick up the required 20 yards. Nabers came right back into the game and picked up a first down on a short pass to take the Tigers inside the 15. A short pass to Thomas and a stuffed run by Daniels brought up 3rd and 3 from about the five, and the Tigers were forced to take a timeout with just over 5 minutes remaining in the half. The ensuing play found Nabers on a pick play for a Tiger touchdown, putting LSU up 14-10.

Two straight plays for no gain started off the Aggie drive, but a third down pass by Henderson to Thomas was on target for the first down. A scramble on the next play looked like Henderson may break it open, but an ankle tackle in the backfield took him down. The Aggies faced another long third down after a short screen play, but Jahdae Walker was wide open in the secondary, taking the Aggies into LSU territory with just under two minutes to go. A drop on first down led to a short pass to Noah Thomas on second, where Sage Ryan lit him up. Noah held on, and a flag was thrown for targeting. A review made it seem as though it was shoulder to shoulder, and the penalty was overturned. A third down pass to Moss was ruled short again, and the fourth down short yardage attempt was good. A tipped pass on first was caught by Ainias for six yards, and a second down run went for one yard. A third down pass went to Jake Johnson, who powered his way in for a touchdown with only 14 seconds to go in the half. Daniels and the Tigers kneeled it out and the game went to the half with Texas A&M football leading 17-14.