LSU and Texas A&M spent last week in the Top 10. Then SEC play hit, and both teams got knocked back hard.
Now they meet Saturday night in Baton Rouge with the same basic mission: stop the slide and get the first conference win of the season. The stakes are simple enough.
LSU is 2-1 and 0-1 in the SEC after a 32-24 loss at Ole Miss. Texas A&M is also 2-1 and 0-1 after falling 31-21 at home to Kentucky.
The winner stays in the mix; the loser is staring at an ugly early hole in both the SEC race and the College Football Playoff picture.
LSU’s trip to Ole Miss came with plenty of noise attached, and the Tigers still had a chance to steal it after digging out of a 24-7 deficit. But Sam Leavitt’s fourth-down throw in the final minute was picked off in the end zone, and the comeback died there. LSU dropped from No. 7 to No. 10 in the new Associated Press poll.
Coach Lane Kiffin said the emotional swing of that game lingered into the week, and he made it clear the message was about turning the page.
"I think that they went through a lot," Kiffin said of his players' emotions last week, which he addressed with them as preparation for the Aggies began. "I told them, 'Hey, we've got to go out of here and regroup.' We've got to move on because we can't let that missed opportunity have to do with us losing another game."
He also said three games is too small a sample to know exactly what kind of team he has.
"It's our first year with everybody except for the couple (of players) that we coached a year ago at Ole Miss," he said.
LSU’s injury list grew against the Rebels. Defensive back Dashawn Spears, a key piece on the nation’s No. 1 run defense at 33.0 yards per game, suffered a season-ending ACL injury. Tight end Trey'Dez Green will miss multiple games with a knee injury, though he is expected back later.
"Dashawn and Trey'Dez are extremely unique and unique in what we use them to do," Kiffin said.
Texas A&M had its own damaging afternoon against Kentucky, and the Aggies fell from No. 9 to No. 23 in the AP poll. Versatile wide receiver and return specialist Terry Bussey went down with a lower-body injury on the opening kickoff and is out for the season.
In his place, Mario Craver delivered a career day, catching 11 passes for 119 yards.
Mike Elko didn’t sugarcoat what happened. The Aggies coach said the performance wasn’t close to the standard Texas A&M expects.
"Obviously, (Saturday) wasn't up to the standard that we want it to be," Aggies head coach Mike Elko said. "We've got a great opportunity this week to go on the road and play a top-10 team in an environment that's going to be electric, and we have to respond. That's what this program was built on."
Elko, now in his third season, comes from a defensive background, and Kentucky exposed that side of the ball in a big way. The Wildcats seized control by outscoring Texas A&M 21-0 in the third quarter and finished with 408 yards despite running 30 fewer plays, 84-54, than the Aggies.
"That was probably one of the worst defensive performances we've had in my tenure here," Elko said. "I own that.
That's on me. We have a lot of pride in how we play defense here, and I think we will rise to the occasion."
There’s also a recent history between these teams that LSU won’t have forgotten. Texas A&M beat the Tigers 49-25 in Baton Rouge last October, a loss that dropped LSU to 5-3 overall and 2-3 in SEC play and ultimately led to Brian Kelly’s firing. That decision eventually opened the door for Kiffin’s arrival.
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