Where, when, weather and TV
Where: Kyle Field, College Station, Texas
When: 6:30 p.m. central time, Saturday, Oct. 26
Weather: Temperatures in the 80s, dropping into the 70s during the game. Clear skies.
TV: ABC (Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe)
No. 14 Texas A&M (6-1, 4-0 SEC) depth chart
No. 8 LSU (6-1, 4-0 SEC) depth chart
Injury update
Texas A&M: RB Rueben Owens (ankle) and C Mark Nabou (ACL) are out for the year.
LG Chase Bisontis (lower leg) is out for this weekend.
QB Jaylen Henderson (undisclosed) is doubtful.
LSU: S Jordan Allen, LB Harold Perkins, DE Princeton Maibrue, LB Jake Ibiza and Jacobian Guillory are out.
LB Greg Penn and S Austin Ausberry are probable.
Texas A&M statistical leaders
Passing: Weigman, 56-91 (61.5%), 718 yards, 3 TD, 4 INT
Reed, 43-79 (54.4%), 585 yards, 6 TD
Rushing: Moss, 105 carries, 674 yards (6.4 YPC), 8 TD
Daniels, 69 carries, 292 yards (4.2 YPC), 5 TD
Reed, 43 carries, 226 yards (5.3 YPC), 2 TD
Receiving: Thomas, 21 catches, 289 yards (13.8 YPC), 3 TD
Allen, 14 catches, 220 yards (15.7 YPC), 1 TD
Barber, 16 catches, 158 yards (9.9 YPC)
LSU statistical leaders
Tackles: Weeks, 69
Penn, 53
Burns, 39
Tackles for loss: Swinson, 8.5
Weeks, 7
Jones, 5.5
Sacks: Swinson, 7
Jones, 4.5
Weeks, 2.5
Interceptions: Alexander, 2
Weeks and Gilbert, 1
Forced fumbles: Jones, Penn and Swinson, 2
Fumble recoveries: Burns, 2
Five players with 1
What A&M wants to do
Control the game and time of possession with the run, but also take some opportunities to exploit what has been a bad secondary. It's a similar gameplan to what we saw against Missouri, and Weigman needs to be close to that level, or no worse than the first half against Mississippi State, for it all to work.
LSU did a good job bottling up Arkansas' running game last weekend in one of their best performances to date, but South Carolina and Ole Miss both ran well against them. They're a little undersized and inexperienced in the middle, so A&M may try to take advantage of that. Play action could be something they could use off of that, and take some deep shots.
LSU will definitely try to take Noah Thomas away from Weigman, since he's his primary target, so it could be a big opportunity for players like Barber, Bussey and Allen. When LSU blitzes, they like to come right up the middle, and that could lead to some opportunities for receivers crossing if the blitz gets picked up.
The offensive line needs to control things, especially against the pass rush. If Weigman has time, he can take advantage. But this will be the toughest task they've had to date.
How LSU may try to counter
They probably won't make very many adjustments to what they do. They don't live in your backfield, they just don't give up a whole lot of yards beyond it. They give up a lot of yards, but also get a lot of pressure and get sacks in the passing game. They've got 11 turnovers, and they like to punch the ball out from running backs. They got Rashod Dubinion for a big fumble last weekend at Arkansas that helped change the game.
The interior linemen are supposed to hold things up, allowing linebackers like Whit Weeks to roam. The ends frequently stand up, and they are the best pass rushers on the team by a wide margin. They like to try to get around the end on opposing tackles, which will be a challenge for Trey Zuhn and the combination of Crownover and Fatheree.
LSU will let you move the ball, but they don't give up a lot of points. They're similar to A&M in that respect. They want their linebackers and STAR to be able to roam, and not have to respond to what the offense is doing. They're not the greatest defense, but they're playing solid ball right now.
