Thanks to a disastrous second half, the No. 20 LSU Tigers fell to undefeated and No. 3 Texas A&M 49-25 Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.
LSU dropped to 5-3 overall with its second straight loss and 2-3 in the SEC. Texas A&M improved to 8-0 and 5-0.
The Tigers led 18-14 at the half. But the Aggies scored three touchdowns in the third quarter, including a 79-yard punt return that gave them a 28-18 lead.
Texas A&M extended the lead to 49-18. LSU scored a late touchdown with backup Michael Van Buren at quarterback,
“We’re disappointed,” LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly said in his postgame press conference. “No one’s more disappointed than the players in the locker room. Obviously they’re searching for answers. I’ve got to be able to provide those for them.”
Kelly took responsibility for the loss more than once. He said the team is not executing the way it needs to in order to win.
“The guys are playing hard and I know they work,” he said. “And they prepared their tails off this week and that’s not happening and that’s a football issue and the football buck stops with me and I have to take a good, hard look at what we’re doing and how we’re doing it both from a personnel standpoint and a coaching standpoint.”
There were chants of “Fire Kelly” from the crowd as the game got out of hand.
“This is an extremely disappointing night,” Kelly said. “The fan base, our fans are disappointed like any fanbase would be whether here at LSU or any other school. It stops with the head coach. That responsibility falls with me.”
Kelly said he plans to work from the “inside out” rather than the “outside in,” referring to the outside noise, to get the program back where it needs to be.
Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed passed for 202 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 108 and two.
The Tigers intercepted him twice in the first half, once in the end zone. But they had no answer for him or the Aggies offense in the second half,
Texas A&M rushed for 224 yards and finished with 426 total.
LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier completed 22-of-35 passes for just 168 yards and one touchdown, a 5-yarder to Trey’Dez Green in the first quarter.
Nussmeier was under intense pressure most of the game. He was sacked six times for a minus-44 yards.
The Tigers got off to a good start running the ball but couldn’t sustain the success. Freshman Harlem Berry had 59 yards on nine carries.
Berry scored on a 7-yard run in the first half to put the Tigers on top 15-14. LSU also got a safety on a punt blocked out of the end zone and a 30-yard field goal by Damian Ramos.
LSU has a week off before heading to Tuscaloosa to play Alabama on Nov. 8. The Crimson Tide (7-1, 5-0) edged South Carolina 29-22 Saturday.
The performance in the second half was certainly the most disappointing part of this game.
Back to back touchdowns right out of the gate. The inability offensively to get into any kind of rhythm which has been off and on for us virtually the entire year.
“The guys are playing hard and I know they work. And they prepared their tails this week and that’s not happening and that’s a football issue and the football buck stops with me and I have to take a good, hard look at what we’re doing and how we’re doing it both from a personnel standpoint and a coaching standpoint.
This is an extremely disappointing night. The fan base, our fans are disappointed Like any fanbase would be whether here at LSU or any other school. It stops with the head coach. That responsibility falls with me.
My focus will be more on inside out than outside in. I get it. There should be noise.