LSU falls at No. 5 Texas A&M, 20-7

What a difference a year makes.

A year ago, LSU pounded Texas A&M into submission in a 51-7 win over Texas A&M at Tiger Stadium. The Tigers amassed 553 yards of offense.

For that matter, in 2018, LSU scored 72 points in a 74-72 loss in seven overtimes at Kyle Field.

In 2020, it took LSU until the final minute of the game to score a single point against the Aggies.

To say LSU is a far cry from its record setting, perhaps once-in-a-lifetime team and season of 2019 is an understatement.

No one could have expected LSU to be close to what it was last season but no one that I am aware of expected LSU to be as mediocre, often times poor, as it has been in 2020.

Like everything else in 2020, things have gone south for LSU.

As much fun as it was to watch the 2019 Tigers, it is more often than not like pulling teeth with no anesthetic to watch this team.

Here are my quick takes from LSU’s 20-7 loss to Texas A&M.

**LSU radio sideline reporter Gordy Rush reported that LSU coach Ed Orgeron decided not to start Eli Ricks, who could have started despite being ejected for targeting in the first half against Arkansas the previous week. Ricks did enter the game in the second quarter.

**Texas A&M got the ball first and went three-and-out.

**LSU drove to the Texas A&M 36-yard line and on fourth-and-two, went for it and Tyrion Davis-Price came up a foot short of the first down.

**Jacoby Stevens helped A&M on their second possession with a late hit on quarterback Kellon Mond after he was out of bounds, giving the Aggies 15 yards.

**Then, Cardale Flott committed pass interference to give A&M another first down.

**That set up a 42-yard field goal by Seth Small to give the Aggies a 3-0 lead with 9:10 to play in the opening quarter. The drive covered 41 yards in seven plays, more than half of which were penalty yards.

**Max Johnson came in at quarterback late in the first quarter, replacing TJ Finley, with LSU pinned back at its own 3-yard line. The result was the same with a 3-and-out and a punt.

**Isaiah Spiller than raced 52 yards for a touchdown through a gaping hole, untouched, to give A&M a 10-0 lead with 16 seconds left in the first quarter.

**LSU got a big stop on fourth-and-inches as A&M went for it just outside of the LSU 5-yard line.

**Finley hit Terrace Marshall for 55 yards and on the next play, Finley hit Kayshon Boutte on a 31-yard touchdown pass. Boutte made a great catch. He got his foot in bounds and pulled the ball into his body but the play was ruled incomplete, upon review.

**Was there really indisputable evidence to overturn the call? It certainly did not look like it. What about leaving the call stand on the field if it is close? That is the plight of the 2020 LSU Tigers.

**On the next play, Finley was picked off by Jaylon Jones on a tipped ball.

**LSU then had a decent drive, aided by a roughing the passer penalty but Cade York shanked a 34-yard field goal attempt badly to the left.

**LSU could not do anything on offense and the Aggies were able to get a drive and Small kicked a 40-yard field goal on the final play of the half to make it 13-0.

**LSU had just 135 yards of offense, including just 28 yards rushing on 14 attempts and nine of those came on a scramble by Finley. A&M had the ball for 16:44 to just 13:16 for the Tigers.

**The Tigers simply cannot run the ball well enough to win with two freshmen quarterbacks. Against Missouri, LSU ran 20 times for 49 yards. Against Auburn, LSU ran 27 times for 32 yards. Against Mississippi State, LSU ran 38 times for just 80 yards.

**Finley was just 8-of-19 for 89 yards with an interception in the half. LSU had just five first downs in the half.

**Spiller accounted for 133 of A&M’s 213 yards in the half, including 15 rushes for 125 yards and a touchdown and he added a catch for six yards.

**LSU went 3-and-out to start the second half but its defense held. After its defense held again, forcing another A&M punt, Nick Constantinou’s punt his the foot of LSU’s Dwight McGlothern and it was recovered by Connor Blumrick for the Aggies.

**Ray Thornton then sacked Mond for a seven-yard loss and LSU forced a punt.

**Then, Finley held the ball too long, was hit and was intercepted by Buddy Johnson, who returned it 15 yards for a score to give A&M a 20-0 lead with 4:36 to play in the third quarter.

**Johnson then came in and played the rest of the way, mercifully ending the day for Finley, who finished 9-of-25 for 118 yards and two interceptions.

**Johnson at least showed the ability to escape the rush and extend plays a bit. Given the play of this LSU offensive line against any good opponent, that is an important element.

**Johnson engineering a touchdown drive in the final minutes likely earns him a start against Alabama and why not? It was a 14 play, 81-yard drive and it was against a Texas A&M defense which was still playing very, very hard, trying desperately for a shutout.

How much dislike is there on both sides? Jimbo Fisher called timeout twice on the drive, imploring his defense to preserve the shutout.

Johnson finished 14-of-22 for 110 yards and a touchdown.

LSU finished with just 267 yards, 81 on the final drive. The Tigers rushed for just 36 yards.

Ironically, Texas A&M finished with 267 yards as well. This was the LSU defense’s best game, by far, and it was wasted.

By the way, is there anyone still saying that Myles Brennan was not the guy to run this team? The gap between Joe Burrow and Brennan was substantial. The gap between Brennan and the two freshmen playing now is even larger.

Bad teams do things badly. There is a generic statement, if there ever was one.

LSU could not block the run. LSU could not protect the passer. LSU could not run or throw it. LSU turned the ball over three times and had 11 penalties.

LSU punted 11 times. Zach Von Rosenberg has his left leg and foot on ice.

While the Texas A&M defensive front is very good, do you really think the Aggies look like a College Football Playoff team?

How overrated is Kellen Mond?

Despite network announcers gushing about him most of the night, Mond was simply poor.

He finished 11-of-34 for 105 yards.

He is a four-year player for a reason. He is more of a compiler, when it comes to numbers and records, than he is an achiever.

LSU was last shutout by the Aggies on Sept. 4, 1993 in a 24-0 win for A&M at College Station in the forgettable regime of Curley Hallman.

Here is the good news for LSU fans. There is not much left to this season (hopefully).

Here is the bad news. LSU has to face Alabama and Florida over the next two weeks. If you struggled to watch this game against A&M, you might want to tune out the next two weeks. It will not be a pretty picture.

If you plan on watching, you might want to get your physician to prescribe a heavy dose of anesthesia to dull the pain the Crimson Tide and Gators figure to inflict upon the Tigers.