BATON ROUGE – An 8-win season and a better bowl resume will be on the line on Thanksgiving Night when LSU travels to College Station to take on Southeastern Conference Western Division rival Texas A&M.
Kickoff between the Tigers and Aggies is set for 6:30 p.m. from a newly-expanded Kyle Field, which now seats 106,000. The game will be the featured telecast on ESPN on Thanksgiving with Rece Davis, Jesse Palmer, David Pollack, and Samantha Ponder on the call.
The game will also be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network and in the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net with Jim Hawthorne, Doug Moreau and Gordy Rush calling the action.
LSU and Texas A&M both enter the game with identical marks of 7-4 overall and 3-4 in league play. The Aggies won their first five games of the season and climbed as high as No. 6 in the nation before a 48-31 setback to Mississippi State the first week of October. Since then, the Aggies have won just one SEC game, beating Auburn, 41-38, on Nov. 8.
LSU will be looking to snap just its second 2-game losing streak in 10 years under Les Miles as the Tigers go into the game coming off back-to-back losses to Alabama and Arkansas. Prior to its 2-game losing streak, the Tigers reeled off wins over Florida, Kentucky and Ole Miss.
LSU has won three straight over the Aggies dating back to a 41-24 win against Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl to cap the 2010 season. LSU has also won both games against the Aggies since they joined the SEC in 2012, winning 24-19 in College Station in two years ago followed by a 34-10 victory last year in Tiger Stadium.
Tomorrow’s game will be the first time LSU will play on Thanksgiving since 1983 when the Tigers beat Tulane, 20-7, in the Louisiana Superdome. LSU is 10-10-5 all-time on games played on Thanksgiving.
Watch/Listen: WatchESPN | Listen Live | Radio Affiliates
“It was a short week with the Thursday game but the players have enjoyed the change in schedule,” Miles said. “We are looking forward to playing on Thanksgiving against a very talented Texas A&M team. I think we used the open date week to get better in all phases and I’m excited to see how we are going to respond.
Twitter Updates: @LSUfball | @LSUbonnette | @LSUJake
 |
LSU GameDay Info LSU (7-4, 3-4 SEC) at Texas A&M (7-4, 3-4 SEC) LSU’s Ticket Will Call opens at the Southeast Tower of Kyle Field at 5 p.m. CT. As the visiting team, LSU will wear white jerseys and will occupy the northeast sideline. TV: ESPN | WatchESPN | Skycam Forecast: Clear Driving Directions (Baton Rouge to College Station, Texas — 362 mi.; 5h, 33m) Full-Game Replays on SEC Network: |
“Texas A&M will present challenges for us on both sides of the ball. They have a young quarterback who has played very well and they have a really good set of receivers. I think our secondary will enjoy the matchup.”
Offensively, sophomore Anthony Jennings will start at quarterback for the Tigers as LSU will try to take advantage of an Aggies defense that is last in the SEC in yards allowed at 445.2 per game. The Aggies are 13th in the league against the run, giving up 208.9 yards a contest.
That should play into LSU’s favor as the Tigers are a run-oriented offense, rushing for 204.5 yards per game with freshman Leonard Fournette leading the way with 745 yards and seven touchdowns. Senior Terrence Magee follows with 471 yards and three scores. Last year against Texas A&M, Magee had the best game of his career, earning SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors after rushing for 149 yards and touchdown.
While the running game has been LSU’s most effective form of offense this year, the Tigers will have to keep the Aggie defense honest with the passing game as well. Jennings has thrown for 1,353 yards and nine TDs this year with Travin Dural being the top target with 35 catches for 747 yards and seven scores.
LSU’s offensive line will get a boost this week with the return of junior Vadal Alexander to the lineup. Alexander missed the Arkansas game with a hand injury. The Tigers will be without the services of senior center Elliott Porter, who suffered an ankle injury against the Razorbacks. Ethan Pocic will start at center in place of Porter, while senior Evan Washington will take over at right guard.
“We’ll be fine up front,” Miles said of the offensive line. “Ethan will move over to center and we’ll plug Evan into the right guard spot. Evan is a senior leader for us who has been preparing for this all year. He played well against Arkansas and we expect him to do another good job for us against Texas A&M.”
Defensively, LSU will be tasked with stopping an Aggie offense that leads the SEC in passing with an average of 321.2 yards per game. Texas A&M averages nearly 40 passing attempts per game and they have thrown for 34 touchdowns. As a unit, Texas A&M is averaging 36 points per game, third in the SEC.
Linebacker Kwon Alexander leads the Tiger defense with 72 tackles, while defensive end Danielle Hunter has 63 tackles, 12.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. As a unit, LSU’s defense is among the best in the SEC as the Tigers are first against the pass allowing 164.0 yards per game and No. 3 in scoring defense (16.4 points per game) and No. 4 in total defense (312.9 yards per game).
Since the start of the Kentucky game – a span that stretches 16 quarters – LSU defense has allowed just four touchdowns in regulation.
True freshman quarterback Kyle Allen will make his fourth straight start for the Aggies. In his three prior starts, two of which were wins, Allen threw for eight touchdowns and over 600 yards.
Texas A&M spreads the ball around on offense as the Aggies have four receivers with at least 40 catches and a fifth player with 29 receptions.
“We’ve had a good week of preparation,” Miles said. “We have a chance to get our eighth win of the season and extend that streak to 15 straight years with at least eight wins. This group of Tigers work hard and they are motivated to play well and to finish this season on a high note. This has been a really great group of guys to coach and to be around.”
After the Texas A&M game, the Tigers will be off until the bowl game, which LSU will be playing in for a school-record 15th consecutive season. LSU is also a win away from extending the nation’s longest active streak of seasons with at least eight wins to 15 straight.
LSU’s bowl destination and bowl opponent will be announced on Sunday, Dec. 7.