Texas A&M is faced with its biggest game of the regular season to date as this group heads down to Louisiana to take on the 5-2, but reeling, LSU Tigers. This bout has a lot riding on it for Mike Elko's crew, so let's discuss some of the bigger storylines surrounding this battle as we inch closer and closer to kickoff.
The numbers that lie in LSU's favor
LSU holds one of the very best stadium environments this sport has to offer and is even better under the bright lights. But those night games aren't just great for the entertainment value; they've also bred a lot of success.
Brian Kelly has fallen short of the overarching expectations at LSU, failing to win a conference title and make an appearance in the playoffs, but one thing he has done well is win night games at Tiger Stadium — holding a 20-1 record under those circumstances. While that only includes one win over Texas A&M, that coming in 2023, the Aggies struggles in Baton Rouge extend much further than that.
Texas A&M hasn't won a game at Tiger Stadium since 1994. At that time, Mike Elko was a senior in high school, Brian Kelly was the head coach at Grand Valley State, and Marcel Reed was just under 10 years away from being born. Now, a lot has changed since then, but the Aggies' success has not — losing six straight times by an average margin of nearly 20 points.
This figures to be Texas A&M's best shot in over two decades at bucking the trend, bringing in one of the best Aggie teams in recent memory. But, until that trend comes to an end, there is always going to be some hesitancy and concern when these two teams meet in the state of Louisiana.