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

Where: Kyle Field, College Station, Texas

When: 6 p.m. central time, Saturday, Nov. 28

TV: ESPN

QB: #11, Kellen Mond (Sr; 6-3, 217; ProFootballFocus 2020 season score of 80.6)

#13, Haynes King (Fr.; 6-3, 200; PFF score of 71.7)

RB: #28, Isaiah Spiller (So.; 6-1, 225; PFF score of 79.7)

#0, Ainias Smith, (So.; 5-10, 190; PFF score of 71.1)

#6, Devon Achane (Fr.; 5-9, 185; PFF score of 84.8)

FB: #43, Cagan Baldree (RS-Sr.; 6-4, 250; PFF score of 65.4)

TE: #85, Jalen Wydermyer (So.; 6-5, 265; PFF score of 82.1)

#46, Ryan Renick (RS-Sr.; 6-2, 225; PFF score of 60.6)

WR: #5, Jalen Preston (RS-So.; 6-2, 205; PFF score of 60.4)

#1, Demond Demas (Fr.; 6-3, 180; PFF score of 57.6)

SLOT: #2, Chase Lane (RS-Fr.; 6, 190; PFF score of 69.4)

OR #7, Moose Muhammad (Fr.; 6-1, 196; PFF Score of 58.2)

WR: #9, Hezekiah Jones (RS-Jr.; 5-11, 180, 56.8)

#4, Dylan Wright (RS-Fr.; 6-4, 210; n/a) OR

#16, Kenyon Jackson (RS-Fr.; 6-6, 195; n/a)

LT: #65, Dan Moore (Sr.; 6-5, 315; PFF score of 64.2)

#76, Chris Morris (Fr.; 6-4, 290; n/a)

LG: #55, Kenyon Green (So.; 6-4, 325; PFF score of 69.6)

#70, Josh Bankhead (Fr.; 6-5, 320; n/a)

C: #77, Ryan McCollum (RS-Sr.; 6-5, 300; PFF score of 63.1)

#75, Luke Matthews (RS-So.; 6-4, 320; n/a)

RG: #73, Jared Hocker (Sr.; 6-5, 325; PFF score of 66.6)

#64, Layden Robinson (RS-Fr.; 6-4, 325; PFF score of 78.6)

RT: #54, Carson Green (Sr.; 6-6, 315; PFF score of 81)

#53, Blake Trainor (RS-Fr.; 6-7, 325; PFF score of 68.8)

DE: #11, Ali Gaye (Jr.-TR.; 6-6, 262; PFF score of 69.6)

#55, Jerrell Cherry (So.; 6-2, 277; PFF score of 42.8)

DT: #94, Joseph Evans (RS-Fr.; 6-1, 319; PFF score of 68.7)

#92, Neil Farrell (Sr.; 6-4, 319; PFF score of 60.8)

DT: #97, Glen Logan (Sr.; 6-3, 339; PFF score of 63.2)

#99, Jaquelin Roy (Fr.; 6-4, 302; PFF score of 56.4)

DE: #3, Andre Anthony (Sr.; 6-3, 255; PFF score of 66.7) OR #8, BJ Ojulari (Fr.; 6-2, 230; PFF score of 81.8)

OLB: #23, Micah Baskerville (Jr.; 6-1, 231; PFF score of 41.9)

#43, Ray Thornton (Sr.; 6-3, 225; PFF score of 62.1)

MLB: #18, Damone Clark (Jr.; 6-3, 245; PFF score of 60.3)

#10, Josh White (Fr.; 6, 215; PFF score of 68.9)

OLB: #19, Jabril Cox (Sr.-TR.; 6-4, 231; PFF score of 72.6)

#58, Jared Small (So.; 5-10, 209; n/a)

CB: #24, Derek Stingley Jr.; (So.; 6-1, 195; PFF score of 67.3)

#5, Jay Ward (So.; 6-1, 176; PFF score of 57.2) OR #26, Darren Evans (Sr.-TR.; 6-3, 180; PFF score of 34.4) OR #2, Dwight McGlothern (Fr.; 6-2, 182; PFF score of 53)

S: #4, Todd Harris Jr. (Jr.; 6-1, 195; PFF score of 56.9) OR #14, Maurice Hampton Jr.; (So.; 6, 215; PFF score of 63.4)

FS: #7, Jacoby Stevens (Sr.; 6-2, 230; PFF score of 60.8)

#31, Cameron Lewis (Sr.; 6-2, 197; PFF score of 62.4)

CB: #1, Eli Ricks (Fr.; 6-2, 196; PFF score of 77)

#25, Cordale Flott (So.; 6-1, 165; PFF score of 67.8)

Texas A&M: WRs Caleb Chapman (knee) and Camron Buckley (knee), TEs Blake Smith (knee) and Baylor Cupp (shoulder) and OL Grayson Reed (leg) are out for the year. WR Jhamon Ausbon opted out.

LSU: CB Derek Stingley (knee) is questionable

Rushing: Spiller, 103 carries, 643 yards (6.2 YPC), 5 TD

Smith, 34 carries, 187 yards (5.5 YPC), 2 TD
Achane, 21 carries, 124 yards (5.9 YPC), 2 TD

Passing: Mond, 117-182 (64.2%), 1,468 yards, 16 TD, 2 INT

King, 2-4, 59 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

Receiving: Smith, 26 catches, 312 yards (12 YPC), 5 TD

Lane, 23 catches, 311 yards (13.5 YPC), 2 TD

Wydermyer, 28 catches, 311 yards (11.1 YPC), 4 TD

Tackles: Stephens, 39

Cox and Clark, 34

Tackles for loss: Gaye, 6.5

Ojulari, 5
Cox, 4.5

Sacks: Ojulari and Anthony, 4

Stevens, 2.5

Passes broken up: Gaye, 6

Ward, 4

Ricks and Flott, 2

Interceptions: Ricks, 3

Cox, 2

Harris, 1

Forced fumbles: Six players with 1

Fumble recoveries: Stevens, 2

Three players with 1

Rushing offense: 189.2 YPG (42nd nationally, 2nd SEC)

Passing offense: 254.5 YPG (46th nationally, 6th SEC)

Total offense: 443.7 YPG (33rd nationally, 5th SEC)

Scoring offense: 33.3 PPG (37th nationally, 5th SEC)

First downs: 142 (55th nationally, 9th SEC)

3rd down conversions: 62% (1st nationally, 1st SEC)

Red zone offense: 88.5% (36th nationally, 5th SEC)

Sacks allowed: 2 (3rd nationally, 1st SEC)

Penalties: 36 (58th nationally, 3rd SEC)

Penalty yards: 340 (72nd nationally, 8th SEC)

Time of possession: 33:22 (16th nationally, 1st SEC)

Team turnovers: 7 (47th nationally, 2nd SEC)

Turnover +/-: +1 (54th nationally, 6th SEC)

Rushing defense: 136.8 YPG (37th nationally, 6th SEC)

Passing defense: 335.8 YPG (125th nationally, 14th SEC)

Total defense: 472.6 YPG (112th nationally, 13th SEC)

Scoring defense: 32 PPG (77th nationally, 11th SEC)

First downs allowed: 120 (61st nationally, 3rd SEC)

3rd down conversion defense: 40.8% (68th nationally, 4th SEC)

Red zone defense: 77.3% (33rd nationally, 5th SEC)

Team sacks: 16 (41st nationally, 3rd SEC)

Team tackles for loss: 38 (53rd nationally, 3rd SEC)

Penalties: 36 (58th nationally, 3rd SEC)

Penalty yards: 265 (52nd nationally, 2nd SEC)

Turnovers forced: 12 (35th nationally, 3rd SEC)

Turnover +/-: +4 (28th nationally, 3rd SEC)

The same thing they've been doing to great effect: use a balanced attack, chew up the clock and grind opponents down in the process. The offensive line has set the tone in each of the past four games, doing it earlier and earlier each week. LSU had success shutting down Arkansas' running game last week, so the Aggies will want to come out and let them know they won't have a repeat performance this time.

If the weather is decent, this game could be an opportunity for Mond to put up big numbers. LSU's secondary has been horrible this year, giving up incredibly big numbers to the league's lower-echelon quarterbacks. Mond is the best they've faced, by far, this year. The Tigers have had trouble with basic assignment football in the passing game, and if the Aggies run a lot of rub routes, crosses or wheel routes, odds are someone's going to come open. Add in the matchup nightmare that is Wydermyer and there should be opportunities for plays down the field.

The Aggies should move the football efficiently if the weather isn't a serious factor -- if they play the way they have the past month. If they do, and don't turn the ball over, LSU may have to deal with more than this group can handle.

Do the basics right, for starters. LSU was excited by how their defense performed last weekend against Arkansas -- a game where they still gave up 443 yards of offense in just over 18 minutes of work. But they held Arkansas to 0-10 on 3rd downs and got a pick-six from Jabril Cox, so that's something. Their defensive front also did their jobs well, so that's also an improvement.

What the Tigers want to do in this game is to win the battle up front with as few players as possible. That means their front four, with two huge guys in the middle and speed on the edges. In spite of their horrible numbers, LSU still has racked up sacks and tackles for loss this year. They're going to want to try to do that again this weekend with their four down linemen as much as possible. They'll blitz (look for Cox and Stevens in this role), but they want to be able to drop as many players into coverage or rally to the football as possible.

The secondary, as noted, has been atrocious. They're fairly young and have not adjusted well to Bo Pelini's scheme and have gotten lit up as a result. Felipe Franks threw for 339 yards on just 17 completions last weekend, including a 65-yard TD pass where two defensive backs completely dropped Treylon Burks on a simple out and up route. There's still a lot of talent on the defense, but blown assignments and other mental blunders have killed them all year. They've got to play their most disciplined and effective game of the year by far if they're going to slow the Aggies down.