Nick Saban is sticking with LSU again for Saturday night’s SEC clash with Texas A&M, even after his pick missed last week.
The Tigers are back under the lights in Death Valley, where they’ll try to avoid a second loss before September is even over. LSU enters at 2-1 after falling at Ole Miss, a result that dropped the Tigers three spots in the AP Poll from No. 7 to No.
- Now they get another shot in a primetime spot, this time against No.
23 Texas A&M.
The Aggies are coming off a rough one of their own. Their home loss to Kentucky turned into what the source called an SEC catastrophe, and now they head into a road test that kicks off shortly after 7:30 p.m.
ET on ABC. Both teams are 2-1, and both had SEC openers that went sideways.
Saban, who has coached in Death Valley as both the home and visiting coach, believes the setting matters here. He pointed to the usual edge for home teams in night games around the SEC and backed LSU to respond.
“I think both teams will bounce back, but there’s a stat in the SEC that when you play at home at night in the SEC, I mean it’s like an unbelievable percentage of the home team winning. And LSU is obviously one of the most difficult places to play, and Lane is going to do a really good job of trying to get this team to come back. … But I think LSU’s defense will carry them,” Nick Saban said during his weekly Friday afternoon appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.
Saban also flagged concerns on the Texas A&M side, especially after the loss to Kentucky.
“What I’m concerned about with A&M is, quarterback didn’t play very well last week and the defense was not very good at all, and Kentucky just controlled the game against them. They’re going to have to get the defense fixed if they’re going to have a successful season, and obviously Marcel Reed’s got to come around and play really well as well.”
For the second straight week, Saban is backing LSU to handle the moment at home.
In Other News...
Joe Burrow Just Sparked A New LSU Legacy Debate
Joe Burrows latest public take on LSU football came with the kind of name-dropping that tends to reopen old arguments around Baton Rouge. On The Gronk & Jules Show, the former Tigers star talked through his affection for the program, backed head coach Lane Kiffin, and looked back fondly on the energetic edge Ed Orgeron brought to the sideline during his time in charge.
Burrow also drifted into one of the schools favorite barroom debates by discussing LSUs greatest players, and he could not trim the conversation down to just four names. Billy Cannon, Tyrann Mathieu, Ja'Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson and Odell Beckham Jr. all came up, which says plenty about the depth of the programs history and why any ranking of the Tigers all-time best is destined to leave somebody feeling left out. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Fans Just Got The Full Tiger Stadium Plan For Texas A&M
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The release also spells out what to expect once the game starts, including halftime performances and in-game recognitions designed to keep the Tiger Stadium experience moving even after the first whistle. For a night like this, the logistics matter almost as much as the football, and LSU has now answered the biggest practical questions fans tend to ask before heading into a packed primetime crowd. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&M Just Got A Notable Vote Of Confidence At LSU
With both teams coming off SEC-opening losses, the build-up to LSU-Texas A&M already had a little extra edge, and SEC Network host Peter Burns added another layer by siding with the Aggies in his preview. Burns pointed to Marcell Reeds history against LSU as one reason for leaning that way, while also flagging concerns about the Tigers offense as the matchup approaches.
For LSU, the prediction is less important than the larger message it sends about where this game is being viewed from outside Baton Rouge. The Tigers will try to answer the doubts on their own field, but Burns pick underscores how much attention is on LSUs ability to clean up its offensive issues before Texas A&M arrives with momentum and a quarterback whose past against the Tigers is drawing notice. [Read more 🡒]