The Aggies didn’t have it easy last time out with a narrow 45-42 victory over Arkansas. The road only gets more difficult from here as 7-0 Texas A&M heads to one of the most electric environments in sports – Death Valley, Baton Rouge. At LSU, Mike Elko and company take on a ranked opponent, fighting for life in their season. What can the Aggies do in the trenches to hand the Tigers their second straight loss?
While LSU has a solid defense, the Tigers struggled mightily last time out against Vanderbilt. The Commodores rushed for 239 yards in their win over LSU. However, this LSU defense tends to perform better at home. The challenge for Texas A&M’s offense will be taking the air out of Tiger Stadium early on. The Aggies can do this by establishing the run and keeping Marcel Reed upright in the passing game.
Keeping Reed upright feels like the easier of the two tasks, as LSU doesn’t have a single pass rusher with more than two sacks. In the past, the Tigers have always had a dominant edge rusher that offensive coordinators have had to plan around. That isn’t the case in 2025, though Harold Perkins is still capable of creating havoc as a blitzer.
The rushing attack will undoubtedly miss Le’Veon Moss this week, but the line should still be able to generate push in the run game. The Aggies may need to rely on Marcel Reed’s legs a little bit more in this one. It feels like Reed opened up the running game a bit last week against Arkansas. LSU’s defense has struggled most against mobile quarterbacks like Trinidad Chambliss and Diego Pavia. The Tigers will likely key on the run, but if Marcel Reed can occupy defenders with the threat of his legs, that may very well make the offensive line’s job easier.
Pressuring Garrett Nussmeier is the key in this one. LSU’s offense has struggled all season long, and a big part of that is their inability to protect Nussmeier, as well as their struggle to establish the rushing attack. Texas A&M’s defense is at its best when it can win on early downs and force teams into obvious passing situations.
I think a big part of the defensive struggles for Texas A&M last week can be attributed to the ability of Taylen Green to use his legs. Nussmeier doesn’t possess that same ability, and so the Aggies can pressure without the threat of a quarterback breaking off a long run. Still, I would like to see better discipline in the rush lanes.
Couple that with better run fits, and the Aggies should be able to stifle the LSU offense and force mistakes. I’m expecting a big game rushing the passer from Cashius Howell in particular against a banged-up LSU offensive line. If the Aggie offense can score early and pair it with a defensive stop, I think Texas A&M will be off and running for their first win in Death Valley since 1994.