Brune’s rapid reactions to LSU’s win over Texas A&M
LSU survived a scare from Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon in Tiger Stadium, defeating the Aggies 42-30 and closing out the regular season with a 9-3 record. The visiting Texas A&M squad held a lead going to halftime and the fourth quarter, but the Tigers scored three touchdowns in the final frame to take the win.
Here are my instant thoughts and reactions to the win and what it means.
Offense
Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels 5 runs the ball as the LSU Tigers take on Texas A&M in Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, November 25, 2023.
Going against one of the best defenses in the country, we knew it was going to be a challenge for the Tigers to drive the length of the field consistently. Texas A&M did a good job bringing pressure, unsettling Daniels early and eliminating the explosive plays that have made the Tigers the best offense in the country. With his offensive line struggling, the run game non-existant, and a mediocre game from his receivers, Jayden Daniels had to put on the Superman cape and be the hero.
He constantly broke big-time runs and helped flip the field. The fourth down run that went inside the A&M 5 single-handedly saved that drive. It’s not an easy defense to face, especially on obvious passing downs, but Daniels shook off a couple missed throws and made the plays necessary to win the game.
Brian Thomas and Malik Nabers were much better in the fourth quarter, capitalized by Thomas’ awesome touchdown reception in the corner of the endzone, then Nabers on the other side. Both were incredible plays that put an exclamation point at the end of the regular season.
With a couple three and outs, it certainly wasn’t smooth, but putting up 42 points on this defense is still an excellent showing from the best offense in America.
Daniels ended the game with 235 yards and four touchdowns on 16-of-24 passing with 120 yards rushing. It was another herculean effort and one deserving of the Heisman trophy. When the defense was unable to get answers, Daniels was able to buy it more time.
Defense
There were few signs of life through three quarters. On the first six drives of the game, LSU allowed 24 points and only got two stops because of a dropped pass on fourth down and a missed field goal.
From then on, The Tigers seemingly figured out how to slow down this offense led by a third string quarterback. Defensive coordinator Matt House utilized Harold Perkins in more spy packages and generally kept him on the field more. There were more Whit Weeks snaps, more Dashawn Womack snaps, and more Ashton Stamps snaps than in previous games.
The third down defense was abysmal, allowing the Aggies to convert 7-of-11 third downs in the first half, most of those coming through the air. The defense made Jaylen Henderson, a guy who was the backup at Fresno State last year, look like a capable quarterback. The one interception by Greg Penn proved to be the only real mistake he made in the game, throwing to wide open receivers for first downs.
Ultimately, even with a few stops late in the game, the overall effort was not crisp enough from LSU’s defense. It’s been a story the entire season, but third downs, lack of physicality, lack of playmaking from the unit has made the situation dire. We’ll see how Kelly handles it moving forward.
Big picture thoughts
The win ends the regular season with a 9-3 record and a top 15 ranking. In the moment, the losses to Florida State and Ole Miss were certainly painful, ending the year with the only losses to three top 10 teams all on the road, it’s a quality season. I said entering thee year that Brian Kelly and this program were now being judged on championships after year one, and that’s certainly still the case at LSU, but another potential 10-win season and a potential Heisman trophy winner helps cushion the blow a bit after watching a putrid defense for the last 12 games.
We’ll have plenty of time to dive into what’s next and where the program needs to go from here, but let’s take one more chance to acknowledge the seniors and the players who will be in the NFL Draft in a few months. Jayden Daniels, Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas, Josh Williams, and Noah Cain are the first ones that come to mind offensively. It was a historic offensive season and will go down as one of the two best offenses in LSU history.
Defensively, people will want to move on from guys like Andre Sam, Omar Speights, Ovie Oghoufo, and others, but those guys and Jordan Jefferson bought in and fought for LSU the entire year. It was not good enough, but they didn’t opt out or leave the program.
Year two for Brian Kelly was not quite was LSU fans wanted it to be, but when you take a moment to acknowledge it for what it was, it’s a year that certainly gives the program positive momentum moving into the future.
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