Positional matchups: Which Texas A&M, LSU position groups have greatest advantage?
Positional matchups: Where do Texas A&M football and LSU have the greatest advantage?
Texas A&M football is matching up with LSU this Saturday in the biggest game of the entire week. The Ags are building this one up in a huge way, even down to wearing some pretty sweet alternates, and the players on both sides are already fired up.
In this game, which could be key in deciding the SEC race, the margins between these two red-hot teams might end up being extremely thin. So who has the advantage here? Let's go through each facet of the game and break it down.
A reminder: these "advantage scores" go from 1 to 5, with 5 being a complete mismatch and 1 being nearly even. A "push" means I see it as a completely even matchup.
LSU passing offense vs. Texas A&M passing defense
This is one of the big matchups in this game. Garrett Nussmeier is prone to giving you a turnover or two, but he's a gamer and the Aggie defense has been prone to the big play. I'm not sure the Ags can completely shut this aspect of the offense down, but they may give as good of a challenge down-to-down as any team the LSU Tigers have yet faced.
Advantage: LSU by 1
LSU rushing offense vs. Texas A&M rushing defense
For as big as the last matchup is, I think this is where the game will be decided. If it's tough sledding up front for the Tigers all day, then I don't think they'll be able to be very consistent on offense. Caden Durham is proving to be a star at RB, but I think the Ags get the better of the Tigers here.
Advantage: Texas A&M by 2
LSU pass protection vs. Texas A&M pass rush
I'll say this: there's a difference between pass protection and your quarterback dumping the ball off in the face of pressure. The sack number may not end up being high, but I think Mike Elko finds ways to pressure Nussmeier. This is a good enough OL, though, that they can find some snaps to create a deep pass opportunity here and there—and the outcome of those plays may decide this one.
Advantage: Texas A&M by 1