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LSU's offense vs. Texas A&M's defense

AggieYell.com's look at the matchup between No. 14 Texas A&M (8-3, 4-3 SEC) and LSU (5-6, 2-5 SEC) continues with a breakdown of the LSU offense against the Aggie defense.

Texas A&M's defense gives up the second-fewest points in FBS.
Texas A&M's defense gives up the second-fewest points in FBS.
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The scene 

Location: Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, La.

Time: 6 p.m. central time, Saturday, Nov. 27

TV: ESPN

Weather: Temperatures in the 50s with a chance of rain

LSU depth chart

QB: #14, Max Johnson; So.; 6-5, 218

#5, Garrett Nussmeier; RS-Fr.; 6-1, 190

RB: #3, Tyrion Davis-Price; Jr.; 6-1, 223

#21, Corey Kiner; Fr.; 5-10, 213 OR

Armoni Goodwin; Fr.; 5-9, 185

#27, Josh Williams; So.; 5-9, 194

#26, Tre Bradford; So.; 6, 200

WR: #11, Brian Thomas Jr.; Fr.; 6-5, 198

#16, Devonta Lee; Jr.; 6-2, 215

WR: #33, Trey Palmer; Jr.; 6-1, 187 OR

#13, Jontre Kirklin; Sr.; 5-11, 186

WR: #10, Jaray Jenkins; Jr.; 6-3, 198 OR

#8, Malik Nabers; Fr.; 6-1, 188 OR

#6, Deion Smith; Fr.; 6-3, 198

#17, Chris Hilton; Fr.; 6, 178

TE: #80, Jack Bech; Fr.; 6-2, 207

#82, Jack Mashburn; So.; 6-3, 224

#87, Kole taylor; So.; 6-7, 247


LT: #61, Cameron Wire; Jr.; 6-6, 307

#72, Garrett Dellinger; Fr.; 6-5, 303

#71, Xavier Hill; RS-Fr.; 6-4, 306

LG: #70, Ed Ingram; Sr.; 6-4, 320

#77, Marlon Martinez; So.; 6-5, 316

C: #56, Liam Shanahan; Sr.; 6-5, 300

#69, Charles Turner; So.; 6-6, 284

#71, Xavier Hill; RS-Fr.; 6-4, 306

RG: #57, Chasen Hines; Sr.; 6-3, 350

#77, Marlon Martinez; So.; 6-5, 316

#58, Kardell Thomas; So.; 6-5, 326

RT: #76, Austin Deculus; Gr.; 6-7, 325

#74, Marcus Dumervil; Fr.; 6-6, 289

Texas A&M depth chart

DE: #3, Tyree Johnson; RS-Sr.; 6-4, 240

#18, Donnell Harris; RS-Fr.; 6-3, 220

#37, Jahzion Harris; Fr.; 6-3, 220

DT: #8, DeMarvin Leal; Jr; 6-4, 290

#35, McKinnley Jackson; So.; 6-2, 325

#6, Adarious Jones; RS-So.; 6-4, 315 OR

#93, Dallas Walker; RS-Fr.; 6-3, 325

DT: #92, Jayden Peevy; Sr.; 6-6, 310

#34, Isaiah Raikes; So.; 6-1, 330

#5, Shemar Turner; Fr.; 6-4, 285

DE: #2, Micheal Clemons; RS-Sr.; 6-5, 270

#10, Fadil Diggs; RS-Fr.; 6-5, 260


WLB: #1, Aaron Hansford; RS-Sr.; 6-3, 240

#45, Edgerrin Cooper; RS-Fr.; 6-2, 215 OR

#24, Chris Russell, Jr.; 6-2, 240

MLB: #32, Andre White; Jr.; 6-3, 225

#45, Edgerrin Cooper; RS-Fr. OR

#23, Tarian Lee; RS-So.; 6-2, 245


CB# 7, Tyreek Chappell; Fr.; 5-11, 185

#11, Deuce Harmon; Fr.; 5-10, 200

CB: #17, Jaylon Jones; So.; 6-2, 205;

#31, Dreyden Norwood; Fr.; 6, 180

S: #9, Leon O’Neal; Sr.; 6-1, 210

#13, Brian Williams; Jr.; 6-1, 215

S: #26 Demani Richardson, Jr.; 6-1. 215

#14, Keldrick Carper; Gr.; 6-2, 200,

#20, Jardin Gilbert; Fr.; 6-1, 185

Nickel: #27, Antonio Johnson; So.; 6-3, 200

#4 Erick Young, Jr.; 6-1, 205

#11, Deuce Harmon; Fr.; 5-10, 200

Injury update

LSU: LT Cameron Wire (undisclosed), WR Keyshon Boutte (knee), RG Chasen Hines (undisclosed), WR Chris Hilton (undisclosed) are all out; WR Brian Thomas and RB Armoni Goodwin are doubtful; WRs Chris Hilton and Deion Smith and TE Jack Bech are questionable.

Texas A&M: CBs Myles Jones and Brian George and Safeties Keldrick Carper and Brian Williams are out. DE Tunmise Adeleye is also out.

LSU statistical leaders

Rushing: Davis-Price, 192 carries, 919 yards (4.8 YPC), 6 TD

Kiner, 62 carries, 255 yards (4.1 YPC), 2 TD

Passing: Johnson, 203-335 (60.5%), 2,509 yards, 24 TD, 6 INT

Nussmeier, 29-57 (50.8%), 259 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT

Receiving: Boutte, 38 catches, 509 yards (13.4 YPC), 9 TD

Bech, 42 catches, 478 yards (11.4 YPC), 3 TD

Nabers, 20 catches, 348 yards (17.4 YPC), 3 TD


Texas A&M statistical leaders

Tackles: Hansford, 81

Antonio Johnson, 70

Richardson, 58

Tackles for loss: Leal, 11.5

Three players with 8.5

Sacks: Tyree Johnson, 8

Leal, 7.5

Clemons, 3.5

Interceptions: O'Neal and Jones, 2

Six players with 1

Forced fumbles: Six players with 1

Fumble recoveries: Hansford, 2

Three players with 1


LSU's offense vs. Texas A&M's defense (national rankings in parentheses)
Category LSU Texas A&M

Total offense/defense

370 YPG (90th)

319.8 YPG (16th)

Scoring offense/defense

27.1 (74th)

14.9 PPG (2nd)

Rushing offense/defense

109.6 YPG (117th)

137.5 YPG (48th)

Passing offense/defense

260.4 YPG (39th)

182.4 YPG (11th)

3rd down conversion percentage/conversion defense

38.2% (78th)

33.1% (21st)

Red zone offense/defense

81.8% (81st)

71% (10th)

Tackles for loss allowed/tackles for loss

5.27/game (60th)

6.2/game (43rd)

Sacks allowed/sacks

32 (110th)

33 (20th)

Time of possession

29:36 (74th)

30:16 (52nd)

Turnovers/turnovers forced

14 (54th)

16 (50th)

Turnover +/-

-1 (78th)

+1 (57th)

What LSU wants to do

Be able to run the football, hit big plays in the passing game and control the clock.

More realistically, they'd like to find a way to consistently move the football and keep their quarterback upright. Things are not good for LSU on offense right now.

Take a look at the injuries: Two of their starting offensive linemen and their best receiver by far are out. They were down to two scholarship running backs against ULM. Their top tight end at the moment is a true freshman tight end who weighs less than 210 pounds and missed Wednesday's practice with injuries himself. His backup was in a non-contact jersey. Three wideouts still technically "available" also missed practice.

It's gone from Garrett Nussmeier's father calling the LSU staff three weeks ago demanding playing time to him being sat for the remainder of the year to preserve his redshirt. So Max Johnson gets to take the abuse.

Johnson hasn't been bad by any stretch, but he's in a difficult situation. He's got a true freshman at left tackle and three veterans who have been disappointing at best in front of him. The offensive line has been consistently beaten by opponents all year and just don't block well in any phase of the game. Johnson has been under a lot of pressure all year, but particularly down the stretch. Alabama picked up 5 sacks, Arkansas 3 and ULM 3 -- and that was with a healthier line than LSU has now.

If the Tigers are to have balance, Davis-Price will have to be a big part of the gameplan. He's a tough, physical back who has had some big games this season, but LSU's running game as a whole has been pretty awful -- 117th in the country. Against ULM, the 117th-ranked defense in the nation, LSU averaged 2.4 yards a carry and racked up less than 100 yards on the ground.

LSU's troubles are best shown by the fact that Boutte remains their top receiver in terms of catches and yards and he hasn't played in two months. That doesn't mean they don't have weapons; Nabers went over 100 yards receiving in the first half last week against ULM and is one of several players who can stretch the field. That's one thing the Tigers will have to do against A&M -- find a way to protect Johnson and take some shots down the field. Dumping the ball off to Bech isn't going to get the job done. They need to take some risks.

Outside of the 49 points they scored on Florida -- a team we now know is awful -- LSU has not scored more than 28 points in conference play. They haven't scored more than 27 on anyone since mid-October, and that was against a 2-8 ULM team from the Sun Belt. The Tigers need to find a way to keep Johnson upright and comfortable and find some ways to push the ball down the field. Otherwise, their scoring issues will continue.

How A&M wants to counter

Dominate up front and eliminate the threat of the big play by putting consistent pressure on Johnson. If they do that, life gets very difficult for LSU.

Unlike the Tigers, the A&M front line is healthy. Micheal Clemons was held out of the Prairie View game for the most part but should be ready to go this week, so the Aggies will have their front group of Clemons, DeMarvin Leal, Jayden Peevy and Tyree Johnson. Johnson, who has 8 sacks and has been the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week twice, will get a lot of snaps opposite true freshman Garrett Dellinger.

A&M's first objective will be to shut down Davis-Price. He didn't have a ton of success against ULM (21 carries, 82 yards), but A&M still gave up 147 yards on 42 carries to Prairie View and you know that galls them. There must be increased attention paid to proper gap assignments and limiting missed tackles. Linebackers Edgerrin Cooper and Aaron Hansford may be up closer in the box than usual not only to stop the run but to attack the short passing game.

If the Aggies can limit the run, they can start to attack Johnson when LSU is in passing situations. You know the drill by now: A&M will show blitz looks from the linebackers and safeties and sometimes they'll come and sometimes they won't. But they'll give Johnson a lot of things to think about and find ways to make sure he has to get rid of the ball fast. A&M knows LSU has had trouble protecting their quarterback, and they will absolutely look to exploit it.

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