A look at LSU’s final regular season foe, the Texas A&M Aggies

LSU shares an interesting football history with Texas A&M, their opponent at Kyle Field in college Station to wrap up the regular season Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network. The Tigers haven’t lost to the Aggies since 1995 (33-17) and never as fellow SEC opponents.

There are many Aggies’ coaches and players with Louisiana ties.

A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher served as the offensive coordinator at LSU from 2000-06. Aggies offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey was the tight ends coach for the Tigers from 1991 to 1993.

A couple of A&M assistants had two stops at LSU. Receivers coach Dameyune Craig served in same capacity at LSU in 2014 (the former Auburn QB was a grad assistant with the Bengal Tigers in ’04). Linebackers coach Bradley Dale Peveto was LSU’s co-defensive coordinator (2005-’08) and linebackers coach (2014-’16).

The Texas A&M athletic director, Scot Woodward, is a LSU alumnus who later served as Vice Chancellor External Affairs.

As for current players, freshman tight end Glenn Beal sign with the Aggies out of John Curtis in the ’18 class. He has no stats yet this season.

Senior cornerback DeShawn Capers-Smith, a Warren Easton product, was Louisiana’s Prep Player of the Year in 2014 after throwing for 5,550 yards with 50 TD passes and only two interceptions while adding 1,318 yards and 22 touchdowns on the ground. He has had seven starts for Aggies this season with 35 tackles and one interception.

Defensive back Clifford Chattman from McDonogh 35 is a 6-foot-5 sophomore who has contributed seven stops this season.

Defensive tackle T.D. Moten, a Woodlawn-Shreveport product, and left guard Colton Prater from Airline High in Bossier City are backups.

Donovan Wilson, another Woodlawn-Shreveport, has recorded 53 tackles (four for loss), two sacks and a pair of interceptions in his senior season. He had 13 picks his senior year at Woodlawn in 2013. Wilson needs six more tackles to reach 200 in his career. Compared to Tyrann ‘Honey Badger’ Mathieu in style, he tallied 12 tackles earlier this season against Kentucky.

Plain Dealing alum Keldrick Carper was the No. 27 safety in nation as senior in 2017 class. The sophomore is a third team safety this season with nine tackles.

Warren Easton’s Klyde Criss, another sophomore, was chose A&M over LSU, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennesse, Ole Miss, Georgia and Auburn.

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Now for the nuts and bolts. Here are the key players for Aggies:

RB Trayveon Williams

He leads SEC with 1,326 yards rushing (6.1/carry) and 13 scores. He has 1,606 all purpose yards.

QB Kellen Mond

With 2,680 yards passing and 17 touchdowns, the sophomore is a capable dual threat. He had 430 yards passing vs. Clemson. The SEC’s fourth rated passer also ran for 98 yards against Alabama.

LB Otara Alaka

His 68 tackles lead the team (also 12 TFL). He recorded 11 stops vs. Ole Miss and 10 against Clemson. He suffered a concussion last week against UAB, so his availability is uncertain.

TE Jace Sternberger

One of top tight ends in nation, he has 42 catches for 729 yards and the single-season A&M record for a tight end with eight touchdowns. His 729 yards is also record for that position at A&M. He had 145 yards receiving against South Carolina.

DE Landis Durham

The senior edge rusher has 44 tackles, eight sacks and nine TFL.

DT Kingsley Keke

Another senior with a knack for getting the the passer, he has 11 career sacks.

WR Camron Buckley

The sophomore has caught a pass in every game this season and has 32 grabs for 465 yards. He had a 69-touchdown catch against Clemson.

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By the numbers, you may be surprised that Texas A&M averages 202 yards on the ground per game compared to 171 yards for LSU.

On defense, A&M has 29 QB sacks compared to LSU’s 27 but the Tigers have a much more productive secondary with 16 interceptions compared to five by the Aggies.

Texas A&M with a 7-4 mark has all quality defeats. The four losses came to Clemson (28-26) at home and road defeats to Alabama (45-23), Mississippi State (28-13) and Auburn (28-24). Like 10-2 LSU, the Aggies have been tested plenty.

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This will be a tough matchup for the Tigers. Third down conversions will be key to manage field position in a hostile environment, and LSU’s advantage on special teams can be a deciding factor. Cole Tracy is SEC’s best kicker, converting 22 of 25 field goal tries. Punter Zach Von Rosenberg averages 45.7 yards per boot.

Texas A&M has been slotted as a 1-2 point favorite because of home field. It will likely be that close.