Texas A&M’s offense wasted its few openings at LSU

Marcus Ratcliffe’s interception at the LSU 40 gave Texas A&M a chance to make the third quarter less comfortable for the Tigers. The Aggies had already fallen behind 28-3, but a takeaway is still a takeaway, even when it arrives carrying a rather large deficit.

Texas A&M gained 4 yards, followed with two incomplete passes from Marcel Reed and settled for a field goal from 53 yards by David Olano. Four plays produced three points and no first down in the 35-6 loss to LSU at Tiger Stadium.

The possession did not erase the damage, but it exposed the larger problem: the Aggies’ defense could create opportunities only for the offense to shrink them.

The first third-quarter exchange

The more consequential sequence came earlier, immediately after halftime. Texas A&M began with Rueben Owens II running for 7 yards. Reed then missed Isaiah Horton on second down, and Tamarcus Cooley sacked him for an 11-yard loss on third-and-three. In the space of two snaps, a manageable possession became fourth-and-14 at the Aggies’ 21.

Texas A&M punted 58 yards to the LSU 21. LSU answered with a six-play, 79-yard touchdown drive.

Sam Leavitt opened that march by completing a 6-yard pass to Winston Watkins Jr. Dilin Jones then ran for 7, caught a pass for 6 more, and watched Watkins gain 3 on the ground to bring up third-and-one at the LSU 43. Jones was stopped for no gain, leaving LSU with fourth-and-one. Leavitt hit Jackson Harris for 57 yards and a touchdown.

That exchange made the offensive shortfall costly. Texas A&M had gone backward before punting; LSU faced one short-yardage decision and turned it into seven points. A&M had forced third-and-one to become fourth-and-one. That was a chance to stop the drive, but Harris’s touchdown made the score 21-3 and punished the Aggies immediately after their own stalled possession.

Ratcliffe’s interception later gave the offense a better starting point than most possessions. Owens gained 4 yards, then Reed’s throws to KJ Edwards and Aaron Gregory fell incomplete. Olano’s kick was valuable in isolation, especially from 53 yards, but a takeaway that produces no first down is more rescue flare than turning point.

Reed had movement without continuity

Reed finished 10-for-26 for 106 yards, with one interception and no touchdown passes. The box score is severe; the possessions explain the severity.

Texas A&M’s best sustained march began late in the first quarter and ended in the second, covering 62 yards in 15 plays and reaching the LSU 6. Reed ran for 10 yards on second-and-11, setting up third-and-one rather than converting the first down.

Carsyn Baker then gained 3 yards to keep the drive alive, while Owens and Mario Craver added useful contributions earlier in the possession.

The Aggies still could not finish. Two incomplete passes near the goal line forced a 24-yard field goal. Moving 62 yards for three points is better than leaving empty-handed, but it also showed how little room the offense gave itself. Texas A&M went 4-for-15 on third down and 0-for-1 on fourth down.

Owens supplied the clearest running support, gaining 62 yards on 11 attempts and producing runs of 16 and 10 yards. KJ Edwards added 21 yards on four carries. Yet the Aggies finished with 91 rushing yards after sack yardage was included, and Reed’s 10 carries netted minus-13 yards. LSU’s pressure turned too many ordinary downs into long-distance problems.

The passing game offered no consistent counter. Horton led Texas A&M with 43 receiving yards, and Craver added 31. Horton did make a 27-yard catch on a late second-quarter third-and-10, but a holding penalty and a sack ended that possession before halftime. Individual completions kept appearing; connected drives did not.

LSU had the luxury of making its best plays count. Leavitt completed 17 of 23 passes for 312 yards and two touchdowns. Harris caught six passes for 163 yards, including the 16-yard touchdown before halftime and the 57-yard strike on fourth down. LSU also ran for 194 yards, forcing Texas A&M to defend both the explosive pass and the steady ground game.

The defense owns its share of a night on which LSU gained 506 yards. A&M cannot put all of that on Reed. But the Aggies also cannot ask a takeaway at the LSU 40, or an eight-minute scoring drive, to count as sufficient offensive progress. Both opportunities ended with Olano kicking. Neither ended with LSU having to reconsider its lead.

Sources

ESPN box score and play-by-play

Official team report