Aggies Close Regular Season at No. 14 LSU

Texas A&M closes out the 2023 regular season on Saturday when the Aggies head to Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge to battle No. 14 LSU. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. on ESPN.

The Aggies (7-4, 4-3) enter the matchup on a two-game win streak, most recently downing ACU 38-10 last Saturday at Kyle Field. The Tigers (8-3, 5-2), meanwhile, have won five of their last six and are coming off a 56-14 home win over Georgia State.

A&M has won two of the last three meetings between the two schools, including last season's 38-23 upset of the fifth-ranked Tigers at Kyle Field.

Saturday's forecast calls for mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-60s.

GAMEDAY: LSU

Saturday, Nov. 25 • 11:05 a.m. CT
Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Live Stats: Click Here

THE MATCHUP

Texas A&M: 7-4, 4-3
  Last: def. ACU, 38-10
  Game Notes: Click Here
LSU: 8-3, 5-2
  Last: def. Georgia State, 56-14
  Game Notes: Click Here

RANKINGS

Texas A&M: NR
LSU: 14 (AP), 14 (Coaches)

WATCH

TV: ESPN
  Play-by-Play: Bob Wischusen
  Analyst: Robert Griffin III
  Sidelines: Kris Budden

LISTEN

Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network
1620 AM/94.5 FM (local), SiriusXM 190
  Play-by-Play: Andrew Monaco
  Analyst: Dave Elmendorf
  Sidelines: Will Johnson
Listen Live: 12th Man Mobile App

Spanish Broadcast: Click Here
102.7 FM (local)
  Play-by-Play: Michel Gonzalez
  Analyst: Pedro Luna
  Analyst: Alejandra Dorbecker
Listen Live: 12th Man Mobile App

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

• The Aggies are set to close out the regular season at No. 15 LSU ... A&M has claimed three of the last five meetings with the Tigers including the 38-23 upset of then-No. 6 LSU in the season finale a year ago.
• Graduate WR Ainias Smith has been a spark for the A&M offense, tallying 22 20-plus yard plays this season and has added at least 25 yards after the catch in six of A&M’s seven SEC games, including a seasonhigh 68 yards against South Carolina ... Smith ranks ninth in the SEC averaging 66.9 receiving yards per game and 16.4 yards per catch.
• Smith, the FBS active career leader in punt return yards, ranks eighth nationally and second in the SEC averaging 15.2 yards per return ... He also ranks eighth in the SEC averaging 101.1 all-purpose yards per game, eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark this season for the first time in his career.
• The A&M offense has tallied over 400 yards of total offense in seven of the team’s 11 games this season, most recently tallying 448 yards against ACU, while ranking 21st nationally and fifth in the league averaging 34.5 points per game.
• Junior LB Edgerrin Cooper has been a beast for the Aggies in SEC play, tallying 12.0 tackles for loss and 7.0 sacks through six league games ... Cooper leads the SEC and is tied for 10th nationally with 16.0 TFLs ... He ranks fourth in the league with 7.0 sacks, while his 75 total tackles on the year are good for seventh in the SEC.
• A&M leads all Power 5 teams with 94.0 tackles for loss and ranks second with 40.0 sacks on the year ... The Aggies have tallied 69.0 TFL and 33.0 sacks through seven league games this season.
• The Aggie defense has shut down opponents on third down this season, ranking seventh nationally with a 28.8 opponent conversion percentage ... The unit is also sixth in the country allowing just 15.9 first downs per game, while its 59 rushing first downs allowed rank fifth among Power 5 programs.

QUICK HITS

• Sophomore transfer QB Jaylen Henderson became the third Aggie QB to start a game this season as he helped the Aggies rack up 51 points against Mississippi State, the most in an SEC game since the 2015 season ... Henderson accounted for four touchdowns in his first start, including a 22-yard sprint to the end zone on A&M’s first drive, and 210 yards of total offense.
• Junior RB Amari Daniels ranks 12th in the SEC averaging 50.5 yards per game ... Against Mississippi State he added 59 yards on nine attempts, scoring his fifth touchdown of the season late in the first quarter.
• Junior DL Shemar Turner has been a consistent disruptor on the line this season, recording at least 1.0 tackle for loss in eight of the team’s 11 games ... Turner is tied for ninth in the SEC with 6.0 sacks and 11.0 TFLs on the year ... Turner has also made impactful contributions on special teams, blocking a field goal attempt at Ole Miss that resulted in an Aggie touchdown and getting his hand on a 49-yard attempt against Mississippi State.
• The A&M defense made it back-to-back weeks without allowing an offensive touchdown against ACU and Mississippi State ... This marked the fourth time this season the unit has not allowed the offense to score.
• Late in the fourth quarter in the win over ACU, the Aggies utilized a 12th Man Kickoff Team composed of all walk-ons plus the placekicker ... The last time an all-volunteer group covered a kickoff at Kyle Field was Sept. 9, 2006, against Louisiana Lafayette.
• The Aggies have limited the opposition to less than 245 yards of total offense seven times this season and have only allowed an opponent to tally over 100 yards rushing and receiving in the same game twice this year.
• Junior PK Randy Bond ranks seventh in the nation and second in the SEC averaging 9.9 points per game, while his 109 total points on the year rank fourth across the country ... His 22 made field goals on the season are tied for third nationally.

MILESTONES TO WATCH FOR

• Graduate WR Ainias Smith continues his climb through the A&M record books and needs just one receiving touchdown to earn sole possession of fifth on the all-time list.
• After upping his career receiving yards total to 2,348 against ACU, Smith is chasing Mike Evans’ (2012-13) mark of 2,499, which is good for sixth all-time.
• On the verge of breaking into another top five, Smith is currently in sixth with 840 punt return yards and is in need of 61 yards to move up a spot ... He is also 271 yards away from passing Leland McElroy’s (1993-95) 4,441 career yards to move into seventh on A&M’s all-purpose yards list, entering the week with 3,916.
• Sophomore WR Evan Stewart made his way onto A&M’s career receptions list, currently tied with Barney Harris (1967-69) in 25th with 91 career catches ... He is three receiving touchdowns away from breaking into the top 25 all-time at A&M, as well as 39 receiving yards away from cracking A&M’s top 30.
• Junior WR Moose Muhammad III is on the cusp of moving into the top 15 of A&M’s all-time career receiving touchdowns list with 10 career scoring receptions.
• Freshman LB Taurean York is 1.5 tackles for loss away from tying Dat Nguyen’s (1995) No. 3 freshman TFL total of 7.0, not including sacks, and two tackles away from taking sole possession of 10th on A&M’s freshman tackles chart with 60 takedowns on the year.
• Junior PLK Randy Bond is on the cusp of entering the top 10 on A&M’s all-time field goals made list, just three away from passing Taylor Bertolet (2012-15) in 10th who tallied 37 made field goals in his career.
• Bond’s 22 made field goals this season are tied for second on A&M’s single-season list as he chases Randy Bullock’s (2011) record of 29 makes in a season ... Bond’s 109 points on the year are good for seventh on the Aggies’ single-season list and is in need of five points to crack the top-five. 

SWISS ARMY KNIFE

• Graduate WR Ainias Smith has been called a “Swiss Army Knife” because of his do-it-all ability on the field.
• A true quadruple threat, Smith has gained more than 250 yards as a rusher (405), receiver (2,348), punt returner (840) and kick returner (323) ... Among Aggies already in the 3,000-yard club, only six players even have stats in all four categories and just two -- Dante Hall and Larry Stegent -- had 250+ in all four.
• Smith is the only 2,000-yard receiver in SEC history to also rack up at least 250 rushing, punt return and kickoff return yards in their career ... The other 1,000-yard receiver to hit the 250-yard mark in rushing and returns was Kentucky’s Randall Cobb, who posted 1,661 receiving yards along with 1,313 rushing yards, 619 punt return yards and 1,081 kickoff return yards from 2008-10.
• The active FBS leader in career punt return yards, Smith has etched his name into Aggie history, climbing into the top 10 on A&M’s career receiving touchdowns (19), receiving yards (2,348), receptions (172), punt return (80-840) and all-purpose yards (3,916) lists.
• Smith put his dependable versatility on display in the win over Arkansas, returning a punt 82 yards to the house in the fourth quarter to lengthen the Aggie lead and eventually total a career-high 131 punt return yards and 202 all-purpose yards ... This marked the second special teams touchdown of Smith’s career after taking a punt 95 yards to the end zone in 2021 against South Carolina.
• Smith has sparked the Aggies this season with his playmaking ability as he leads the team with 22 20-plus yard plays in his final season, including 17 catches of 20-plus yards ... At Ole Miss, Smith add 27- and 24-yard receptions in the second half to help set up Aggie touchdowns.
• Dating back to the 2019 LSU game, Smith has caught a pass in 38 straight games ... This streak is the seventh longest active streak in the nation, fourth among Power 5 receivers, while it is also the longest streak by an Aggie since Christian Kirk (2015-17) had a string of 39 games.
• Smith recorded the sixth 100-yard game of his career when he led the offense with 118 yards on six catches in the win over South Carolina.
• Smith has registered seven multi-touchdown games in his career, catching multiple TD passes in a game five times ... In the 2021 season opener, he hauled in a 63-yard scoring pass to put the Aggies up 17 points at the half and extended the lead in the fourth quarter with a 43-yard TD grab. 

QUARTERBACK ROOM

• The Aggies have seen three different starting quarterbacks lead the team to victory this season after the QB room has battled injuries throughout the team ... Sophomores Conner Weigman, Max Johnson and Jaylen Henderson have all started at least one game under center this season and each earned an SEC victory donning the Maroon & White.
• Henderson impressed in his first career start for the Aggies, leading A&M to its highest point total since the 2014 season and becoming the first Aggie QB to score multiple rushing touchdowns in a game since 2019 ... Henderson finished the win over Mississippi State with 210 yards of total offense and accounted for four touchdowns on the day.
• Henderson transferred to A&M after spending two seasons at Fresno State, seeing action in five games ... He was a 3-star prospect out of Chaminade High School and though his senior season was shorted in the spring of 2021, he threw for over 1,400 yards and 15 touchdowns while posting 345 rushing yards and a trip to the end zone.
• Johnson stood ready for the Aggies through camp and the early part of the 2023 season, returning to the starting lineup Week 5 against Arkansas before suffering an injury late at Ole Miss ...He was thrown into action in the second half of the Auburn game with A&M up 6-3 at the break following an injury to Weigman and immediately tossed a pair of scoring passes in the third quarter to distance the Aggies and position the team for victory.
• Johnson, who has played in 30 games as an SEC quarterback between A&M and LSU, registered his first 300-yard passing game as an Aggie and the sixth of his college career when he completed a career-best 31 passes for 305 yards at Ole Miss.
• In his first season in Aggieland after transferring from LSU, Johnson led the Aggies to back-to-back victories over AP top-15 teams, topping No. 13 Miami 17-9 at Kyle Field in his first start for the Maroon & White before knocking off No. 10 Arkansas, 23-21 at AT&T Stadium ... Johnson’s stint as the A&M starter was cut short the following week after suffering a season-ending hand injury at Mississippi State.
• Weigman was named the starter at end of fall camp this year after closing out the 2022 season starting four of the final five games ... He made it back-to-back 300-yard passing games, three for his career, after tallying 336 at Miami and racking up 337 against ULM ... Weigman also finished the ULM game 25-of-29 passing for a school record 86.2 completion percentage.
• Weigman put on a show against New Mexico, connecting on five touchdown passes and finishing the opener going 18-of-23 for 236 yards through the air.
• Making his first career start against No. 15 Ole Miss in 2022, Weigman racked up 338 yards on 28-of-44 passing and four touchdowns ... His passing yards were the most in a game by a true freshman in program history and his four passing TDs were the most by any A&M freshman.

DEPTH ON THE D-LINE

• A&M boasts one of the most talented and unpredictable defensive lines in the nation this season, led by the veteran experience of senior McKinnley Jackson on the inside and consistent production from junior Shemar Turner on the outside.
• Jackson and Turner have been joined in the starting lineup by junior Fadil Diggs and sophomore Walter Nolen in nine of the 11 games this season, while the Aggies have consistently used a full second rotation in every game this season that played in at least 11 games a season ago.
• The line plays a vital role in the Aggies ranking second in the SEC and 12th in the country in total defense (286.5 y/g) ... A&M leads all Power 5 teams with 94.0 tackles for loss and ranks second with 40.0 sacks on the year, after beginning SEC play with 15.0 TFL and 7.0 sacks in back-to-back games.
• A&M ranks 16th in the nation in rushing defense (1002.4 y/g) and leads the SEC allowing just five rushing scores all season ... The line recently held ACU to 93 yards on the ground, marking the fifth time this season it has kept the opposition’s run game in double figures, also limiting New Mexico (91), Miami (77), Arkansas (42), Alabama (23) and South Carolina (33).
• As a unit, the defensive line has been a key part of the Aggies’ success in shutting down their opponents on third downs as they are second in the league and seventh nationally allowing just 42 conversions on 146 attempts this season, good for a 28.8 conversion percentage.