Football Drops Regular Season Finale to Texas A&M, 38-23

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Devon Achane rushed for 215 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Aggies past No. 5 LSU, 38-23, on Saturday night in the regular season finale.

LSU falls to 9-3 on the season. The Tigers return to action next Saturday in the SEC Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium against No. 1 Georgia at 3 p.m. CT on CBS.

KEY PERFORMANCES

Sophomore receiver Malik Nabers led the receivers with seven catches for 69 yards, averaging 9.9 yards per reception. Senior running back John Emery recorded three rushing touchdowns with 55 yards on the ground.

Junior defensive tackle Jaquelin Roy finished with a team-high 12 tackles, 1.5 for loss. Senior safety Greg Brooks, senior linebacker Micah Baskerville and sophomore linebacker Greg Penn III all had eight tackles.

A&M running back Devon Achane tallied 215 yards rushing for two touchdowns on 38 carries.

KEY PLAYS

The Aggies fed Achane in bulk on the opening drive, rushing for 53 yards on nine carries, culminating with a 10-yard touchdown rush to cap off a 90 yard scoring drive spanning 7:37 on 15 plays. Texas A&M led LSU 7-0 with 4:54 remaining in the first quarter.

On 2nd-and-10 from the LSU 40, Emery ran for a 11-yard gain to put the Tigers across midfield. On 3rd-and-2 from inside the red zone, Daniels rushed for a 16-yard pickup down to the A&M 4. Emery punched the ball into the end zone with 14:00 after a review of the play to make it 7-7.

Weigman found Moose Muhammad III for a 12-yard connection on 1st-and-10 from their own 35 and then went back to Muhammad again for an 18-yard completion to the LSU 35. On 3rd-and-goal from the LSU 7, Weigman’s pass to Donovan Green fell incomplete, forcing an A&M field goal attempt.

Randy Bond’s 25-yard attempt was good, putting the Aggies back on top, 10-7, with 9:23 left in the half.

Daniels found Nabers for a 13-yard pickup over the middle for an LSU first down. On the very next play, with Daniels looking to go up tempo, he then found Boutte for a 22-yard connection to the A&M 38. On 3rd-and-2 from the Aggie 16, Daniels’ pass to Kyren Lacy fell incomplete.

Damian Ramos’ 34-yard attempt just made it through the left upright to tie the game, 10-10.

Achane opened the next drive with a 29-yard run to the LSU 43. On 2nd-and-10, Jaquelin Roy sacked Weigman for a two-yard loss to the LSU 45. However, Weigman responded with a 12-yard rush on 3rd-and-12 to the LSU 33.

Weigman connected with Green for a 3-yard touchdown completion on 3rd-and-3 from the LSU 3, giving Texas A&M the advantage at 17-10 with 1:10 to play in the first half.

The LSU defense opened up the second half with a big three-and-out. The offense formulated a quick response of their own as Emery rushed up the middle with ease for a 19-yard touchdown on 2nd-and-10 from the A&M 19 to tie the game 17-17 with 9:40 to play in the third quarter.

Daniels rushed left and fumbled, which was forced by Ederrin Cooper and recovered by Demani Richardson, who returned it 27 yards for a touchdown to give A&M a 24-17 lead with 7:03 to go in the third quarter.

On 2nd-and-8 from the LSU 21, Weigman found Muhammad for a 21-yard touchdown pass to extend the Aggies’ lead to 31-17.

Achane continued to dominate, rushing left for a 10-yard touchdown to extend A&M’s lead to 38-17 with 7:46 to play.

Emery posted the final score of the game with a 3-yard touchdown score to make it 38-23 with 6:21 remaining.