Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics
After Math: LSU
Nov 30, 2015 | Football
Each Monday, 12th Man Productions' Will Johnson goes inside the numbers of the last football game with "After Math".
Death Valley didn't feel like the intimidator it'd been lauded as on Saturday. Quite the opposite.
It actually felt more like a land of opportunity for Texas A&M.
Having lost all three games to LSU as a member of the SEC, the Tigers were the lone Western Division team the Aggies haven't topped. There was the sense this was the night to do it.
The good times hadn't been rolling on the Bayou lately. After a 7-0 start, LSU was mired in a three-game losing streak that had put a cloud of uncertainty over the program. All three losses were by two touchdowns or more.
During the slide, LSU allowed 435 yards and 33 points per game.
The Aggies managed just 250 and 7.
The Tigers' skid ended. The Aggies' troubles versus LSU continued.
A&M never got on track against a defense that was struggling.
"We stalled out," lamented head coach Kevin Sumlin in the visiting locker room postgame. "We had some long fields, moved the ball and stalled out across the 50-yard line. We really had some issues trying to block them."
Defensively, the Aggies hadn't struggled in a while. A&M was coming off a shutout in their last game at Vanderbilt.
LSU only kicked two field goals in the first half. They finally scored a touchdown on a long Derrius Guice run with 7:13 remaining in the third quarter.
The A&M defense had spanned 139 minutes and 54 seconds, consecutively, without allowing a touchdown. That's the equivalent of a little over 9 straight quarters without giving up a TD.
"Anyone who's watched us the last couple of years knows our defense has really improved," states Sumlin. "They really played well to the end (Saturday)."
Finally, the Aggies had a difficult special teams night, which is a rarity. A&M had been stellar in the third phase all season.
"It takes a team to win, and a team to lose," Sumlin says. "You can't win in this league when you're only hitting on one of three phases."
What does it all add up to?
11 + 3 = 14.
Eleven penalties plus three turnovers equals 14 ugly mistakes. The total damage is magnified in a close game.
"Eleven penalties is just ridiculous," Sumlin angrily stated shortly after it was over.
The Aggies have to play cleaner on a more consistent basis. In big games it's a point of emphasis.
Saturday night in Death Valley, the Aggies were very much alive late in the game. However, they didn't make the most of the opportunity. They walked out of the valley with the sting of another defeat to the Tigers.
"It's a big deal," Sumlin says of the emerging LSU rivalry.
"But we need to win one of these things to make it a bigger deal," he states with a straight face.
"It's disappointing."
They'll have to wait until Thanksgiving of '16 for another try at ending the streak.
Meanwhile, as far as this season goes, one more opportunity remains.
Texas A&M will receive its postseason assignment on Sunday. They'll try to remain undefeated in bowl games under Kevin Sumlin.
That's a streak that needs to continue.
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