No. 10 LSU didn’t just beat No. 23 Texas A&M in Death Valley - it buried the memory of the Ole Miss loss a week earlier and walked out with a 35-6 win to move to 3-1.
Even without tight end Trey’dez Green, who is sidelined with a lower leg injury, LSU’s offense found plenty of firepower. Sam Leavitt handled the passing game with 312 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, while Jackson Harris delivered the kind of breakout night that changes the feel of an offense, piling up 163 receiving yards and two scores. Winnie Watkins Jr. added another steady outlet, finishing with six catches for 107 yards.
The ground game did its part too. Dillin Jones gave LSU an early spark and finished with 66 rushing yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
But the real separation came on the defensive side, where LSU made life miserable for Marcel Reed and Texas A&M. The Aggies reached the red zone just once all night, and Reed never looked comfortable.
LSU hit him with four sacks, picked him off once and held him to 106 passing yards. His 38% completion rate marked his worst outing of the season.
LSU set the tone early with Jones finding the end zone first, giving the Tigers a 7-0 lead after the opening quarter. Texas A&M answered with a field goal in the second, but that was as close as it got. Leavitt connected with Harris on a 16-yard touchdown before halftime, and LSU went into the break up 14-3.
The third quarter turned into the knockout stretch. LSU put up 21 points in the frame while Texas A&M managed only another field goal. Neither team scored in the fourth, and the Tigers closed out the lopsided win 35-6.
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LSUs Poll Position After That Win Says Plenty About The Tigers
LSUs latest surge still came with a familiar caveat in the polls, even after a convincing 35-6 win over Texas A&M. The Tigers held at No. 11 in the Coaches Poll and slipped one spot to No. 11 in the AP Top 25, a ranking that says as much about the national crowdedness around them as it does about their own performance. Floridas climb to No. 8 after beating Ole Miss was one of the bigger shifts near the top, but LSUs place remained a reminder that one big win does not always bring a corresponding leap.
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
After bouncing back with a win over Texas A&M in Week 4, LSU enters the heart of SEC play with a very different kind of test ahead of it. The Tigers are trying to keep momentum going after the loss to Ole Miss, but the bigger issue now is survival depth, with injuries thinning out key spots across the roster and forcing the next wave of players into the spotlight.
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 🡒]