POSTGAME THOUGHTS: Aggies routed in Baton Rouge

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Baton Rouge called, and unfortunately, No. 23 Texas A&M could not answer. In fact, they couldn’t even pick up the phone. Inside Tiger Stadium on the banks of the Mississippi River, the No. 10 LSU Tigers handed the Aggies a 35-6 defeat on Saturday. Additionally, Lane Kiffin moved to 4-0 over the Aggies across his head-coaching career.

It may only be September 26, but it feels as if the Aggies’ season is over.

Sitting at 2-2 (0-2 SEC), Texas A&M has effectively self-eliminated themselves from the College Football Playoff race, unless they can run the table the rest of the way. With ranked matchups against Missouri, Alabama, Tennessee and Texas still on the schedule, the probability of winning eight in a row seems extremely slim.

As for Saturday’s game, it was an absolute disaster. Outside of one offensive drive, the Aggies found no offensive rhythm. And even on that drive, A&M settled for a 24-yard field goal on fourth and goal to go. At the half, the Maroon and White had one big play (16-yard run by Reuben Owens) and had given up seven plays of 15+ yards.

Defensively, A&M did everything they could to keep the game close early. Six of the first seven combined drives resulted in punts (LSU found the endzone in the only non-punt drive, going 81 yards in eight plays). However, the tackling woes prolonged and saw the Tigers take advantage.

Overall, when punter Tyler White is the MVP of the game, that is usually a bad sign. The senior averaged 51.9 yards across the night and buried three punts inside the 20-yard line. Illinois transfer kicker David Olano provided the points for the Aggies, burying a 24-yarder and a 53-yard field goal to avoid a shutout.

The straw that broke the camel’s back came with 10:57 left in the third quarter. On a fourth-and-1 from their own 43-yard line, LSU converted in a big way. Quarterback Sam Leavitt dunked a short pass to unmarked receiver Jackson Harris who took it 57 yards to the endzone, making it 21-3.

All said and done, it was not A&M’s night in Louisiana. How this team bounces back next week versus Arkansas in Kyle Field will be a sign of what will be to come for the rest of the campaign. Whether a QB change will be made could also establish the difference between going 9-3 and 5-7. It is abundantly clear that the offensive scheme isn’t the problem – however, the signal caller is the issue. While many pundits (including myself) have given Marcel Reed praise and growth in the offseason, seeing him perform and produce in the last three games has become enough of a sample size to make a decision. Reed’s decision making is costing the offense chances to convert third downs, generate a rhythm and continue drives. (For what it’s worth, backup Brady Hart did get the final A&M drive of the night, throwing an interception on his only passing attempt.)

Only time will tell what this group of Aggies is made of. With effectively a lost season, it might be time to see what backups and depth Coach Elko has to set up the future of his program.

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