LSU Stuns Texas A&M With Late TD
An uneven regular season ended with a dud, as No. 15 Texas A&M was upset 27-24 Saturday night at LSU.
LSU quarterback Max Johnson hit Jaray Jenkins on a 28-yard touchdown with 20 seconds left to overcome a late Aggies rally. The Tigers went 75 yards on the winning scoring drive.
The Aggies head into bowl season at 8-4 overall and 4-4 in the SEC, having dropped their last two conference games. In losses to Ole Miss and LSU, Texas A&M scored only 43 points.
The Tigers (6-6, 3-5) made the most of Ed Orgeron’s final game Tiger Stadium. Whether he coaches in a bowl game is yet to determined.
The Aggies have gone bowling in all four years under Jimbo Fisher – and 13 years overall – but the destination is going to feel somewhat disappointing. Texas A&M went to the Orange Bowl last season and came into this one expecting to contend for the College Football Playoff.
Zack Calzada gutted through a sluggish evening to throw three touchdowns, including two in the fourth quarter to Jalen Preston. The latter was a wild 32-yarder that gave the Aggies their first lead at 24-20 with 7:33 to play.
The Aggies had a chance to ice the game with ball and 4:12 left. Unable to get a first down, Texas A&M had to punt and LSU had its final chance.
The Aggies were trying to win in Baton Rouge for the first time since 1994. Texas A&M still has a chance to win at least nine games for the second consecutive season.
LSU jumped out to a 10-0 lead, putting the Aggies on their heels. Johnson burned the A&M secondary with a 45-yard touchdown pass to Jenkins early in the second quarter.
Calzada led a 73-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard to Moose Muhammad III strike to the Texas A&M on the board with 4:31 left in the half.
The Aggies appeared content to go into the locker room down 10-7, but Johnson and LSU had other ideas. The Tigers called two timeouts late in the quarter to get the ball back with a little more than a minute left.
A simple screen from Johnson to Trey Palmer ended up going 61 yards, as the receiver slipped by A&M defenders and raced down the sideline into the end zone for a 17-7 lead at the break.
Texas A&M appeared to bottle up Johnson in the second half, especially with pressure coming from Michael Clemons. The Aggies had six sacks, but couldn't get to the left-handed quarterback on the last march.
Calzada finished 20 of 35 passing for 242 yards. Devon Achane had 72 yards receiving and 49 yards rushing. The Aggies r
