BATON ROUGE – History will be made on Saturday in College Station as LSU and Texas A&M will meet as Southeastern Conference opponents for the first time as the sixth-ranked Tigers go to Kyle Field looking to keep pace in the SEC Western Division and thus keeping its national title hopes alive.
Kickoff between the Tigers and the Aggies is scheduled for 11:01 a.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN. The game can also be heard on the LSU Sports Radio Network and on the internet in the GeauxZone on www.LSUsports.net/live.
LSU, which is coming off its best overall performance of the season in the 23-21 win over No. 3 South Carolina, is 6-1 overall and 2-1 in conference play. The Aggies, which beat Louisiana Tech, 59-57, are 5-1 overall and 2-1 in league action.
A win over the Aggies puts LSU into the month of November will just one loss (or less) for the sixth time in eight years under head coach Les Miles. The Tigers have an open date next week before hosting top-ranked Alabama on Nov. 3 in Tiger Stadium. LSU was undefeated going into November last year and the Tigers had just one loss heading into the final month of the regular season in 2005, 2007, 2009, and 2010.
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LSU GameDay Info #6 LSU at #20 Texas A&M Ticket Will Call for LSU fans opens at 9:30 a.m. CT near Gate 4 at Kyle Field. LSU will wear white jerseys and will occupy the east sideline (opposite press box). TV: ESPN (National) Kickoff: 11:01 a.m. CDT Driving Directions (Baton Rouge to College Station, Texas — 338 mi.; 6h, 2m) |
Saturday’s game will mark the 51st meeting between the two teams with LSU holding a 27-20-3 advantage in the series that dates back to 1899. It will also be the first game between the Tigers and the Aggies during the regular season since 1995 when Texas A&M beat LSU, 33-17, in the season-opener at Kyle Field.
The last time the two teams squared off came in the 2010 Cotton Bowl with the Tigers posting a 41-24 victory over the Aggies.
“I think the team’s accepted the challenge to practice hard,” Miles said. “We’ve had a good week of preparation. There’s been a lot of energy on the practice field this week coming off last week’s performance. All three phases have stepped up. For us, it’s about building on the positives from the South Carolina game. We cut down on our penalties last week, took care of the football and established the line of scrimmage. We are going to have to continue with that same recipe against Texas A&M.”
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Against the Aggies, the Tigers will face perhaps the most potent offensive attack in the SEC led by freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel, who leads the league in rushing (112.7 ypg) and total offense (392.7 ypg). As a unit, the Aggies are scoring a league best 47.0 points a contest while racking up a conference high 543.7 total yards a game.
“This is a very talented Texas A&M football team,” Miles said. “They have a tremendous quarterback and an offense that scores a lot of points, but their defense is also very good. We are going to be challenged on both sides of the football.”
The Tigers will counter the Aggie offense with one of the top defenses in the country as the Tigers are rated in the top 10 nationally in eight categories, including No. 2 in total defense (219.6 ypg) and pass defense (130.3 ypg) and No. 6 in rush defense (89.3 ypg).
Last week, LSU limited South Carolina to just 211 total yards with only 34 of those coming on the ground.
One key for the Tigers in keeping Manziel in check will be the play of its defensive line, in particular that of ends Sam Montgomery, Barkevious Mingo and Lavar Edwards. LSU’s defensive trio has combined for 17.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks with Montgomery leading the way with 8.5 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks.
Offensively, LSU would like to build on last week’s performance against South Carolina as the Tigers offensive line had its best showing of the year, allowing just one sack and paving the way for 258 rushing yards. The Tigers will again start an offensive line that features one true freshman (Vadal Alexander at RT), one redshirt freshman (Trai Turner at RG) and a true sophomore (La’el Collins at LG). Senior center P.J. Lonergan will start at center and sixth-year senior Josh Dworaczyk will start at left tackle.
“I think both guys are improved,” Miles said of Alexander and Turner. “I think they really have the right attitude. They’re real quality learners. They’re very capable physically, and they expect themselves to play well. For freshmen, that’s pretty strong. They expect themselves to play well, and it may be the most important piece.”
LSU will again use a host of running backs on Saturday with Spencer Ware (240 yards) and Jeremy Hill (195 yard, 4 TDs) likely to get the bulk of the carries. Hill had his breakout game last week with a career-best 124 yards and two TDs in the win over South Carolina.
Quarterback Zach Mettenberger continues to lead a steady passing attack with 1,322 yards and six TDs. His top targets have been a pair of sophomores in Odell Beckham Jr. (22 rec., 385 yards, 2 TDs) and Jarvis Landry (22 rec., 219 yards, 1 TD).
The Tiger offense will face an Aggie defense that is allowing 21.8 points and 405.5total yards (124.7 rushing, 280.8 passing) per game. Texas A&M’s top defender is defensive lineman Damontre Moore, who leads the SEC in sacks (8.5) and tackles for loss (15.0).