Saturday night in Baton Rouge is already a ranked SEC road game. The Wednesday availability report made it a roster puzzle as well.
No. 23 Texas A&M (2-1, 0-1 SEC) visits No. 10 LSU (2-1, 0-1 SEC) for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff with running back Jamarion Morrow and wide receiver Ashton Bethel-Roman listed as questionable, KBTX reported from the first midweek availability sheet. Wide receiver Terry Bussey is out for the season after the injury Mike Elko announced from the Kentucky loss.
Both Morrow and Bethel-Roman missed that 31-21 home defeat.
LSU's sheet is thinner in the secondary and at tight end. The Tigers listed tight end Trey'Dez Green, safety Dashawn Spears and Phillip Wright III as out, with cornerback Ja'Keem Jackson doubtful and safety Tamarcus Cooley questionable, per KBTX and Sports Illustrated. Spears' season-ending ACL injury from the Ole Miss game is already a known loss for Lane Kiffin's club.
Elko's Wednesday message
On Aggie Football Hour, Elko did not soften the Kentucky performance. He told the audience the staff and roster had to own a night that fell below the program's standard, then move on toward Baton Rouge.
"We got kicked in the face, and now we've got to get up and go to Baton Rouge and we've got to pull it together," he said, according to Aggies Wire's transcript of the appearance.
He spent a long stretch defending quarterback Marcel Reed against the wave of criticism that followed two interceptions and a pile of incompletions against Kentucky. Elko pointed to Reed's place among the program's winningest quarterbacks and highest career passing-yard totals, and warned against writing off a quarterback who has already delivered a long list of wins in maroon.
"People better not forget that," Elko said of Reed's body of work, per Aggies Wire.
On identity, Elko said the Aggies are still chasing the physical, line-of-scrimmage standard the staff wants. On LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt, he framed the defensive assignment as containment and pressure: the Aggies have to affect Leavitt and stay sound for four quarters.
What the availability sheet changes
Bussey's season-ending absence already forced more snaps onto Kelshaun Johnson, Aaron Gregory and TK Norman against Kentucky, KBTX noted. If Bethel-Roman cannot go, that redistribution continues into Death Valley.
