LSU dominates No. 23 Texas A&M 35-6
Tenth-ranked LSU beat No. 23 Texas A&M 35-6 at Tiger Stadium. Sam Leavitt threw for 312 yards and two scores while the Tigers held the Aggies to 197 total yards.
No. 10 LSU dominated No. 23 Texas A&M 35-6 at Tiger Stadium on Saturday night, limiting the Aggies to 197 total yards and negative traction in the run game while Sam Leavitt threw for 312 yards and two scores. The Tigers moved to 3-1 (1-1 SEC); Texas A&M fell to 2-2 (0-2).
Leavitt hit Jackson Harris for touchdowns of 16 and 57 yards, the long score coming on a Lane Kiffin fourth-and-short shot that froze Aggie defenders on a play fake, CBS Sports and the AP reported. Dilin Jones opened the scoring with a 1-yard run. Backup Landen Clark added rushing scores of 4 and 2 yards late in the third after Leavitt tweaked a hamstring yet kept distributing from the pocket. LSU finished with 506 yards of offense.
Defensively, LSU sacked Marcel Reed four times and intercepted him once. Reed completed 10 of 26 passes for 106 yards and was pulled in the fourth. "We are at rock bottom," Reed said after a second straight rough SEC outing. Mike Elko said his team was outgained badly and had to "look at everything." Edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen notched his team-high seventh sack. A worry for LSU: linebacker Whit Weeks left in a walking boot; Kiffin had no severity update.
History framed the night. Reed had torched LSU last season with dual-threat production in a 49-25 Aggies win that helped A&M reach the College Football Playoff. Coordinator Blake Baker spent the offseason preparing for that look, Kiffin said, and this time Reed never found the same lanes.
Next: LSU hosts McNeese State; Texas A&M hosts Arkansas. Watch Weeks' injury status and whether Leavitt's hamstring limits practice reps before the next SEC test.
Where outlets agree CBS Sports, FOX Sports box score, and LSU Athletics agree LSU won 35-6 behind Leavitt's 312 passing yards, two Harris touchdowns, and a defense that held Texas A&M to 197 yards.
Where they differ Emphasis differs on blame and outlook: LSU-side coverage highlights Kiffin's fourth-down aggression and Baker's plan for Reed; Aggies coverage focuses on Reed's second straight poor SEC game and Elko's full-reset comments.