BATON ROUGE – LSU will look to keep its streak of consecutive seasons with at least eight wins intact as the Tigers wrap up the regular season when they host Southeastern Conference Western Division rival Texas A&M at 6:30 p.m. in Tiger Stadium.
LSU goes into the Texas A&M game with a 7-3 overall mark, just one win shy of winning eight games for a school record 16th straight season. LSU’s current streak of 15 seasons with at least eight wins is the longest among all schools in the Power 5 Conferences. Boise State currently holds the longest streak among all FBS schools with 16 consecutive seasons of at least eight wins.
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The Tigers will also be out to snap their three-game losing streak, the longest such streak under 11-year head coach Les Miles. The Tigers are coming off a 38-17 setback to Ole Miss last week in Oxford. LSU opened the year with seven straight wins and climbed to as high as No. 2 in the College Football Playoff Rankings before its current three-game skid has seen the Tigers fall out of the polls.
LSU is 4-3 in league play with its SEC wins coming against Mississippi State, Auburn, South Carolina and eastern division champion Florida.
Texas A&M brings an 8-3 overall mark and a 4-3 league record into the contest. The Aggies are coming off a 25-0 road win over Vanderbilt last week. The Aggies won their first five games and climbed as high as No. 9 in the nation before dropping a 41-23 decision to Alabama in week 6. Since starting 5-0, the Aggies have split their last six games.
Saturday’s game will be televised on the SEC Network with Brent Musberger (play-by-play), Jesse Palmer (analyst) and Maria Taylor (sideline reporter) calling the action. It’s the first appearance of the year for the Tigers on the SEC Network.
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GameDay Info LSU (7-3, 4-3 SEC) vs. Texas A&M (8-3, 4-3 SEC) – GameDay Central: Video, Social & More Saturday, Nov. 28 GameDay Forecast Times of Interest 8:30 a.m. 4:40 p.m. In-Game Recognitions | 2015 Football Promotions First Quarter/First Timeout First Quarter/Second Quarter Break Second Quarter/First Timeout Halftime: SEC Network Replay Sun., 4 p.m. |
The game can also be heard on the LSU Sports Radio Network (98.1 FM in Baton Rouge and in the Geaux Zone on www.LSUsports.net) as longtime Voice of the Tigers Jim Hawthorne returns to the booth after missing the last three games after undergoing a medical procedure. The Texas A&M game will be Hawthorne’s final game to call in Tiger Stadium as he’s retiring at the end of the 2016 basketball season.
Hawthorne will be joined in the booth by longtime analyst and former LSU standout Doug Moreau, while former Tiger Gordy Rush will report from the sideline.
Saturday’s game also serve as the final home game for LSU’s 15 seniors, a group that has won 35 games, played in four bowl games and played all but three contests during their four years with the Tigers ranked in the Top 25. Headlining the list of seniors are starters Vadal Alexander, Deion Jones, Jalen, Mills, Lamar Louis, Jamie Keehn and Reid Ferguson.
“This is a special group of guys,” LSU coach Les Miles said earlier this week. “They’ve come in and done everything that we have asked them to do. They have worked hard on the field and in the classroom. I’m especially proud that all 15 of these guys have either already graduated or they are on pace to do so by the end of the spring.
“It’s (Senior Day) bittersweet. We have made relationships that will last a lifetime with these guys. I know that beyond football, these guys will do great things with their life and I’m proud to have been able to be a part of their development as young men and as football players.”
When the Tigers take the field on Saturday they will do so with an offense that has been led for most of the year by sophomore running back Leonard Fournette. Fournette, one of three finalist for the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top running back, leads the nation in both rushing yards (1,582) and rushing yards per game (158.2). He’s also scored 17 rushing TDs, just two shy of tying the school record of 19 set by LaBrandon Toefield in 2001.
Fournette goes into the regular season finale needing 105 yards to break Charles Alexander’s school record for rushing yards in a season. Alexander rushed for 1,686 yards on 311 carries in 1977.
Fournette will face a Texas A&M defense that is allowing 202.5 yards rushing per game, which ranks 13th out of 14 teams in the SEC and 104th nationally. The Aggie defense is directed by former LSU assistant John Chavis.
Quarterback Brandon Harris is coming off his best game as a Tiger statistically, with career-highs of passing yards (324), attempts (51), and completions (26) last week against Ole Miss. For the year, Harris has completed 128-of-233 passes for 1,821 yards, 12 touchdowns and just four interceptions.
His top targets have been Malachi Dupre (37 rec., 584 yards, 6 TDs) and Travin Dural (28 rec., 533 yards, 3 TDs) although Dural will miss the remainder of the season with an injury. In Dural’s absence, the Tigers will look to Trey Quinn (4 rec., 37 yards), John Diarse (9 rec., 92 yards) and Tyron Johnson (9 rec., 150 yards, 1 TD) for added production in the passing game.
Defensively, LSU will be challenged by a Texas A&M offense that is averaging 30.3 points and 438.7 total yards per game (179.2 rushing, 259.5 passing). Kyle Allen has emerged as a steady hand at quarterback for the Aggies, completing 57 percent of his passes (145-of-255) for 2,049 yards, 16 touchdowns and only six interceptions.
Tra Carson compliments the Aggie passing game with 990 rushing yards and six touchdowns. Texas &M has four players with at least 27 receptions led by Christian Kirk, who has 67 receptions for 871 yards and six touchdowns. Kirk is also a threat in the return game with two punt returns for touchdowns this year. He’s averaging 24.4 yards on 14 punt returns and 20.1 yards on 14 kickoff returns.
The Tigers will counter the Aggies offense with a defense that is allowing 25.7 points and 351.7 total yards (135.7 rushing, 216.0 passing). Linebacker and Butkus Award Finalist Deion Jones leads LSU and ranks among the SEC leaders with 81 tackles. Jones also has 10.0 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and a pair of interceptions to his credit.
Middle linebacker Kendell Beckwith is second on the team with 70 tackles and 5.0 tackles for loss. Safety Jamal Adams has four interceptions to lead the Tigers, while defensive end Lewis Neal leads the team with 7.0 sacks.
“This is a resilient group of guys,” Miles said of his team. “I’ve seen great energy and a lot of smiles at practice this week. They are ready to play and they want to send out this senior class with a win in Tiger Stadium.”