We hear from the other side ahead of the showdown at Kyle Field
Texas A&M has one of their biggest games in recent memory on tap this Saturday, facing the LSU Tigers at Kyle Field with sole possession of first place in the SEC on the line. To see how folks were feeling on the Bayou Bengal side of the fence, we spoke to Zachary Junda of And the Valley Shook, SB Nation’s LSU team site.
Good Bull Hunting: Man, what a matchup. The lone SEC undefeateds facing off with sole possession of first place on the line. For your money, most anticipated A&M/LSU game ever?
Zachary Junda: It’s definitely on the medal stand. I think from a pure “what’s at stake” scenario, it’s absolutely the most anticipated game. I would sandwich it between the 2019 game when A&M made the return trip to Baton Rouge after that chaotic 7OT game in ‘18 and LSU fans wanted quote/unquote rEvEnGe (it’s just a game y’all it ain’t that deep) and the 2013 game when Manziel came to Baton Rouge following his Heisman season. That game, of course, didn’t have nearly as high of stakes as this one, but I think from an LSU perspective we were all looking forward to Manziel’s one and only trip to Tiger Stadium and letting him know he ain’t shit.
GBH: LSU, like A&M, lost their opener but has seemed to be on an upward trajectory ever since. What has the evolution of the fan outlook been like over that span?
ZJ: Personally I’ve gone from believing that the Brian Kelly era at LSU is just James Franklin: South, meaning they’ll be good but never good enough, to talking myself into this being his best coaching job in Baton Rouge to date.
Coming into the season, LSU was thought to have been a fringe CFP team that more likely than not would be on the outside looking in. You don’t just lose a Heisman QB and two first round receivers and not take a step back on offense, and yet LSU’s one of the better offenses in the country. Not as explosive as last year, obviously, but they’re still good enough to win a lotta games.
The biggest, most pleasant surprise has been the steadying improvement of the defense. They’re by no means one of the elite units in the country, but they’re better than last year. Granted the bar was on the floor but still. They’re playing faster, more disciplined, and they’ve got an attitude that harkens back to those early 2010 Tiger defenses. Don’t ever believe that coaching doesn’t matter because Scott Woodward spent a pretty penny revamping the defensive coaching staff and that investment is already paying dividends midway through year one.
GBH: The LSU defense in particular seems to have really figured some things out in recent weeks. What do you think has driven that success, especially considering the loss of LB Harold Perkins?
ZJ: At the risk of sounding like Bill Simmons ahem I think there’s some Ewing Theory with Harold Perkins.
Look, I love Perkins. That freshman season he had where he just hunted down opposing quarterbacks like Bryce Young, Jaxson Dart, and KJ Jefferson was one of the great joys of my life, but physically he’s a tweener. He’s not an edge rusher, but he’s also not a true in the box linebacker. This will sound bad, but I think in his absence you’re seeing the defense click into place because the other guys are playing in spots that make sense. Sage Ryan is a safety and he’s playing safety. Major Burns is best suited for the STAR. Whit Weeks was a rotational linebacker–because you had to play Perkins…right?— and lately he’s been playing like the second coming of Devin White. I don’t want to say it’s addition by subtraction, but…I mean the numbers pre and post the Perkins injury back it up.
GBH: Let’s talk impact players. Who are the three non-QBs whose names A&M fans should know heading into this game?
ZJ: The aforementioned Whit Weeks aka The Honky Badger might be the best player on LSU’s roster. He’s had 27 tackles the past two games including 18 in LSU’s upset win over Ole Miss two weeks ago. If he’s not the one making the tackle, he’s almost definitely involved in the play in some way shape or form. Weeks has a motor that doesn’t stop and really good athleticism (some might say he has deceptive speed) and that combination is vaulting him squarely into the Butkus Award discussion.
NFL wide receivers grow on trees in Louisiana and Kyren Lacy is the latest one to come out of LSU. I don’t think he’s played himself into a Day One pick like Chase/Jefferson/Nabers/Thomas but he’s been Garrett Nussmeier’s favorite target this year and he’s shown he can be a true No. 1 option on what is currently the No. 8 passing attack in the country.
The LSU running game struggled coming out of the gate, but it’s finding its footing lately thanks in no small part to the emergence of freshman running back Caden Durham. A Duncanville product, Durham’s small but has legit track speed and he’ll win 99% of all foot races he’s involved in. The LSU run blocking scheme is perfectly suited for his skill set and he hasn’t let go of that RB1 status since getting his opportunity in the SEC opener against South Carolina.
GBH: On each side of the ball, tell us about LSU’s biggest strength and their biggest liability.
ZJ: Ironically LSU’s biggest strength, the offensive line, might also be its biggest weakness? LSU’s offensive line has two future first round picks at left and right tackle, with two more pros playing the two guard spots, and as a result they’ve only given up two sacks all season. And yet they’re kind of unable to generate a push on crucial short yardage running plays? It’s a real paradox. This group was supposed to be the favorites to take home the Joe Moore Award, but if it’s 3rd and 2 I’m not 100 percent sure they can get it on the ground. It’s more likely a coin flip which doesn’t make sense seeing as there’s four pros leading the way.
Defensively LSU’s really good on the edge. Bradyn Swinson is getting after quarterbacks at an All-Conference level and senior defensive end Saivion Jones is playing the best ball of his career. As a team LSU’s been really good at causing havoc up front which has been especially helpful because the weakness is clearly in the secondary. Corey Raymond is back where he belongs and he’s recruiting talent LSU would get in its DBU heyday, but in the here and now there’s not a lot of high-end talent in the secondary.
GBH: LSU seemed to have a problem with procedural penalties last week. As they come into what should be a raucous Kyle Field on Saturday night, do you think that’s a cause for concern for the Tigers
ZJ: Definitely a concern for me, LSU got flagged for eight procedural penalties last weekend and Kyle Field is a completely different animal than Fayetteville. I would like to think the eight procedural penalties were a one-off, but of the eight flags three were on redshirt freshman center DJ Chester. If there’s a weak point along the line it’s Chester. He’s got all the physical tools you would want, but there’s still some mental parts to the game he’s getting down and I’m worried it will catch up to him this weekend.
GBH: It appears that A&M will be trotting out all-black uniforms on Saturday. LSU went all-white against Arkansas, do you think they do anything special for this game or stick with their traditional look?
ZJ: I wouldn’t have thought so, in fact when I originally responded to this my answer was “nah they wore all whites last week they won’t change it up two weeks in a row.” And then they announced Wednesday morning that they’re running back the all whites again.
Let’s run it back pic.twitter.com/bVuKMFB0mW
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) October 23, 2024
All white LSU uniforms versus A&M donning a new all-black alternate. What happened to the game I love?
GBH: Alright, tell me how you think this game will play out, and give me a score prediction.
ZJ: Hate to say it, but I don’t like LSU’s chances in this game. They’re a resilient bunch, they got down 17-0 at South Carolina, and they were down 17-7 at home against Ole Miss and they were able to come back to win both of those games. I wrote leading into the Ole Miss game that the Rebs hadn’t won in Baton Rouge since 2008 and those things matter in these coin flip games. Well, I think the same logic applies here. LSU hasn’t won in College Station since 2016 and that matters. I think A&M has the defense to frustrate Garrett Nussmeier and the atmosphere in Kyle Field helps the Aggies win a 28-20 type of game.