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Texas A&M Aggies at LSU Tigers

Sep 26, 20266:30 PM CTBaton Rouge, LA
By JR·2 min read
Texas A&M Aggies#23 TA&M(2-1)
LSU Tigers#10 LSU(2-1)
AT
6:30 PM CT

TLDR: No. 9 Texas A&M and No. 7 LSU both took gut-punch losses on the same Saturday, and neither gets more than six days to figure out what went wrong before they play each other.

SAT SEP 26, 6:30 PM CT
Spread
WIN
Total
#23 Texas A&M
(2-1)
LWWLL
#10 LSU
(2-1)
LWWLL
Kickoff86°

Texas A&M and LSU both suffered their first losses of the season on the same Saturday — the Aggies falling at home to Kentucky, LSU losing late in Lane Kiffin's return to Oxford — and now meet each other in Baton Rouge six days later with neither having played a road SEC game since. LSU opens as the clear favorite at home despite its own recent collapse, while A&M has to answer for a red-zone turnover problem that turned 3 trips inside Kentucky's 30 into nothing.

Texas A&M
  • Opened 2-0 with wins by 50 and 28 points
  • Reed added 80 rushing yards, a TD vs Kentucky
  • Threw 2 picks, wasted 3 trips inside the 30 vs Kentucky
  • Kentucky's DC ran A&M's own defense the last 2 years
LSU
  • Rallied from a 24-7 half deficit to tie Ole Miss at 24
  • Opened 2-0, outscoring Clemson and La Tech 96-24
  • A deflected 4th-down pass sealed a 32-24 loss in Oxford
  • Defense let Ole Miss QB go 33-of-48 for 363 yards

Marcel Reed threw 2 interceptions and watched 3 separate trips inside Kentucky's 30-yard line net zero points as the Aggies fell 31-21 at home to a Wildcats team that hadn't beaten a ranked opponent on the road in 2 years. LSU's outing a state over wasn't much cleaner: Sam Leavitt's fourth-down pass deflected into the hands of an Ole Miss defender for a game-ending interception, sealing a 32-24 loss in Lane Kiffin's much-hyped return to Oxford. Both quarterbacks now have to answer for it in Tiger Stadium.

Neither program has released an early injury report that explains what went wrong, and this soon after the fact there's no single name to pin either loss on beyond execution — Kentucky ran its offense through defensive coordinator Jay Bateman, who spent the previous 2 seasons calling A&M's own defense and clearly still remembers the tendencies. LSU still opens as the clear home favorite regardless, even after climbing out of a 24-7 halftime hole against Ole Miss only to lose it late, which says plenty about how much more the market trusts Baton Rouge than it trusted Oxford.

Kickoff sits under mostly sunny skies near 90 degrees with barely any wind, so neither sideline gets an excuse from the elements. A hostile road environment already got the better of Kiffin once this month; whether Tiger Stadium at night does the same thing to his own defense is the bigger swing factor here. A&M, for its part, hasn't played a true road SEC game yet this season, so this is the first real test of whether last week was a blip or a pattern.

#23 Texas A&M Aggies
(2-1)
09/19LvsKentucky21-31
09/12WvsArizona State48-20
09/05WvsMissouri State50-0
12/20Lvs#6 Miami3-10
11/29L@#1 Texas17-27
#10 LSU Tigers
(2-1)
09/19L@#4 Ole Miss24-32
09/12WvsLouisiana Tech45-14
09/06WvsClemson51-10
12/28L@#25 Houston35-38
11/29L@Oklahoma13-17

LSU's response a week ago is the more encouraging sign for a program still finding its footing under a new staff — that 17-0 run that tied the game at 24 says the roster can play desperate football, even if the finish didn't hold. A&M's version is messier: Reed's legs still work, 80 rushing yards and a touchdown on top of the picks, but an offense that can't finish 3 trips inside the 30 has a real problem no matter who's coordinating the defense across from it.

#23 Texas A&M Aggies
(6)
  • QuestionableJ. Myles (WR) — Myles is dealing with a leg injury, and it remains to be seen if he will play against Kentucky on Saturday, September 19th.09/12
  • OutT. Bussey (WR) — Bussey is tending to an undisclosed injury, and he has been shut down for the remainder of the season.09/21
  • OutJ. Morrow (RB) — Morrow is managing with an undisclsoed injury, and there is no timetable for recovery.09/19
  • OutA. Bethel-Roman (WR) — Bethel-Roman is nursing with an undisclsoed injury, and there is no timetable for return.09/19
  • OutM. Williams (WR) — Williams has been out of commission due to an undisclosed injury, and it is anticipated that he will miss the remainder of the season.09/06
  • OutT. Riden Jr. (RB) — Riden Jr. has suffered an undisclosed injury, and it is anticipated that he will miss the remainder of the season.08/27
#10 LSU Tigers
(2)
  • OutP. Wright III (WR) — Wright III is hampered by an undisclosed injury, and he is likely to miss the remainder of the season.09/21
  • OutD. Spears (S) — Spears has been sidelined due to a torn ACL, and he is likely to miss the remainder of the season.09/21

Both locker rooms will say the same thing this week — fix it or fall further behind in a conference that doesn't wait around. Only one of them gets to try that at home.

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Texas A&M Aggies at LSU Tigers — Both Top-10 Teams Arrive Bruised For SEC Slugfest In Death Valley | Polymarket Odds · Barstool Bush