LSU got the kind of response it needed on Saturday night, and it came in emphatic fashion. The Tigers rolled past Texas A&M 35-6, exacting revenge after last season and posting their largest margin of victory over a ranked opponent in a regular-season game since beating Auburn 45-10 in 2011.
The headline act was quarterback Sam Leavitt, who finished 17-of-23 for 312 passing yards and kept getting sharper even after suffering an injury to his right leg. Instead of forcing things, he settled in, stood in the pocket and kept attacking downfield. It was the kind of performance that changed the feel of the whole game.
After the game, Coach Kiffin said Leavitt’s injury is to his hamstring. “It will eventually come back, but it’s gonna take some time,” he said.
Leavitt’s best stretch in the first half came right after LSU’s defense forced a three-and-out. On third-and-7, he stayed with the play and hit Winnie Watkins for 35 yards. One snap later, Watkins struck again for 36 yards, and Leavitt finished the drive by finding Jackson Harris in the end zone to put LSU ahead 14-3 at halftime.
The Tigers kept pushing in the third quarter. On fourth-and-1, Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. dialed up a sharp call, and Leavitt faked the run before throwing over the top to a wide-open Harris for a 57-yard touchdown. Later, Leavitt connected with Harris again for 40 yards to help set up another score.
Harris ended the night with six catches for 163 yards and two touchdowns, and the connection between him and Leavitt looked real. With Trey’Dez Green out, LSU needed someone else to step forward at receiver, and Harris answered. Watkins did his part too, finishing with five receptions for 107 yards, highlighted by those two huge grabs in the second quarter.
LSU also got a boost from backup quarterback Landen Clark, whose athleticism helped finish off two scoring drives with touchdown runs. He looks ready to handle next week’s game against McNeese while Leavitt heals.
If the offense was sharp, the defense was even nastier. Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed, who had rushed for a combined 170 yards against LSU over the previous two years, was held to -13 yards this time. LSU limited the Aggies to 197 total yards, logged four sacks and added seven tackles for loss.
Texas A&M did manage one long second-quarter drive that took more than eight minutes and reached LSU’s 6-yard line, but the Tigers tightened up and forced a field goal. The Aggies also got three points after Leavitt’s tipped interception gave them the ball at LSU’s 40. That was as close as they came to the end zone.
Deuce Geralds turned in a strong night up front, piling up five tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack in the first half alone. Ty Benefield, starting at STAR for the injured Dashawn Spears, tied for the team lead with seven tackles, all in the first half. Tamarcus Cooley came through after halftime with a sack on Texas A&M’s first drive of the third quarter and later intercepted Reed at the Aggies’ 19-yard line.
The one real downer was the injury to Whit Weeks, who left with his right ankle in a boot and headed to the locker room on crutches. Kiffin said, “I don’t have any update on it. Obviously it didn’t look good when he walked off.”
That creates a difficult picture for LSU, which already had Trey’Dez Green sidelined and now may be dealing with another major absence. Leavitt’s hamstring issue only adds to the uncertainty. For all the positives from the win, the bigger priority now is getting healthy.
Still, this was a strong night for LSU from start to finish. The Tigers played aggressively, got big performances from players stepping into larger roles and banked a convincing “payback” win over a ranked opponent.
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For LSU, the more interesting part may be how little room there is left for error if the Tigers want the respect that usually comes with a late-season push. The AP list and the coaches version both showed movement elsewhere, with teams dropping out and others collecting votes, but LSU stayed planted just outside the top tier. In a week when some programs rose sharply and others faded from view, the Tigers were left in the middle, good enough to stay in the conversation but still waiting for the kind of change in perception that only comes with another statement win. [Read more 🡒]
LSUs SEC Push Suddenly Depends On How Far These Backups Can Go
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That has pushed backups like Landen Clark, Jackson Harris, Davhon Keys and Tamarcus Cooley into more important roles than LSU likely planned this early in the season. With linebacker Whit Weeks, quarterback Sam Leavitt, wide receiver Phillip Wright III, tight end TreyDez Green, linebacker Charles Ross II and safety Dashawn Spears all on the injury list, the Tigers push through the SEC may come down to how steady those reserve pieces can be while the staff waits for help to return. [Read more 🡒]
LSUs Texas A&M Grades Revealed One Breakout And One Lingering Concern
Pro Football Focus latest grading from LSUs game against Texas A&M offered a tidy snapshot of where the Tigers found traction and where they still have work to do. Jackson Harris came out as the highest-graded offensive player with a 92.0 mark, while Tamarcus Cooley paced the defense at 87.7, giving LSU a couple of bright spots to point to after a matchup that demanded consistency on both sides of the ball.
The same report also flagged the Tigers rougher edges, with Jayce Brown drawing the lowest offensive grade and Dylan Carpenter landing at the bottom on defense. For LSU, that kind of split matters because it reinforces the difference between isolated standouts and full-game reliability, leaving the staff with clear evidence of who is elevating the group and where the lingering concern still sits. [Read more 🡒]