LSU offense aids Aggies A&M, wins fifth straight behind 141 yards from Spiller
Published 5:17 pm Sunday, November 29, 2020
Scooter Hobbs
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — LSU finally found some defense Saturday night.
Real defense.
But it seems it’s always something for the struggling Tigers this season.
So they lost 20-7 to No. 5 Texas A&M and returned home wondering where its offense went.
“Tough day,” LSU head coach Ed Orgeron said. “Defense showed a lot of improvement. Those guys played well.”
Offense, not so much.
The Tigers had no running game, couldn’t protect either of their two freshmen quarterbacks and didn’t get on the scoreboard until 38 remained in the game to avoid the shutout.
“We couldn’t block those guys,” Orgeron said. “Give them credit. We were very inconsistent. They had a great game plan.
“There’s no reason for us not to run the ball better,” he said of the Tigers’ 36 yards on the ground. “We’ve got to call better plays.”
Texas A&M (6-1) kept its College Football Playoff hopes alive, although if style points are in play, the Aggies might want to hide the game tapes from the selection committee.
LSU (3-4) dropped back down under .500 again with games the next two weeks against No. 1 Alabama and No. 6 Florida.
But, for a change, this one wasn’t on the much-maligned Tigers defense, which hung in there, even with virtually no help from its offense.
It was mostly an ugly night all around with dreary weather to match as the Aggies took advantage of enough LSU mistakes to prevail even though they didn’t gain any more yards than the Tigers did — both teams finished with 267 yards.
In fact, LSU held the Aggies to 44 yards in the second half — and the Tigers’ defense didn’t give up a point after halftime.
“I thought we were going to catch fire on offense,” Orgeron said. “But we never did.”
Instead, it was up to the offense to deliver a self-administered knockout punch when quarterback TJ Finley’s forced a wobbly pass under duress from his own goal line, a duck that was easy pickings Buddy Johnson to turn into a 15-yard pick six and a 20-0 Aggies lead.
Orgeron had a long conversation with Finley afterwards, and Max Johnson replaced him for the second time in the game as the Tigers kept searching for answers.
“Just protect the football,” Orgeron said of his message. “Don’t throw just throw it up like that. Take the sack. Freshman mistake.
“But it wasn’t the quarterbacks fault,” Orgeron insisted. “He was running for his life, both of them.”
LSU ran for 36 yards on 25 carries and the Aggies combined to sack Finley and Johnson three times while pressuring them on virtually every drop back.
Finley was 9 of 25 for 118 yards and two interceptions while Johnson was 14 of 22 for 113 yards.
He directed the 75-yard scoring drive at the end, capping it with a 3-yard pass to Terrace Marshall.
But it was far too little too late.
The Tigers’ habitually lost secondary held A&M’s Kellen Mond to 105 yards while completing 11 of 34 passes, none of longer than 18 yards,
The Aggies rushed for 146 yards in the opening half — 125 by Isaiah Spiller — including a 26-yard keeper by Mond that set up a 41-yard field goal and Spiller’s 52-yard sprint for the half ’s lone touchdown.
Spiller ran for 141 yards.
The Aggies padded the lead by driving 44 yards in the half ’s final 43 seconds to pad the lead to 13-0 with Seth Small’s 40-yard field goal on the last play
For the Tigers it was an offensive struggle from start to finish.
LSU had an apparent firsthalf 36-yard touchdown catch overturned on review — followed by a tipped interception to kill the drive — and usually reliable kicker Cody York missed a chip-shot field goal to keep the Tigers scoreless in a half for the first time since the Alabama game in 2018.
Otherwise the Tigers’ offense never threatened in the opening half.
The overturned touchdown, which came a play after Finley connected with Terrace Marshall for 54 yards, brought to mind the tough luck LSU had with official reviews here two years ago during the infamous 74-72 loss in seven overtimes.
“I thought he had it,” Orgeron said. “They said he didn’t maintain possession. I thought he did. But they’re not going to listen to me.”
Associated Press