Texas A&M Remains In AP Top 25 Despite LSU Loss
Texas A&M very well could have found itself on the outside looking on Sunday following another road loss. Instead, they just make the cut.
The Aggies fell 10 spots to No. 24 in the latest AP rankings Sunday morning following a 27-24 loss to LSU. A&M finishes the season 8-4, posting a 4-4 record in conference play.
A&M will now wait to see which bowl game they will be granted following championship weekend on Saturday.
“They battled and we battled,” A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said. “And they made one more play than we did.”
With less than two minutes remaining the game, the Aggies were forced to punt the ball back to LSU (6-6, 3-5 SEC) following a failed third down conversion. Max Johnson was sacked by defensive end Micheal Clemons on second down, but rebounded with back-to-back throws to keep the drive alive.
With 20 second remaining, Johnson found wide receiver Jaray Jenkins for a 28-yard touchdown that would end up being the game-winning. Quarterback Zach Calzada couldn't connect with freshman wide receiver Moose Muhammad III, eventually leading to the loss.
Should the Aggies have hung on, it would have marked the most regular season wins under Fisher since his arrival in College Station back in 2018.
Ed Orgeron, who was "fired" in mid-October by former Texas A&M athletic director Scott Woodward, walked off Tiger Stadium for the final time a winner. With the win, LSU returns to bowl season following a 5-5 record in 2020.
“We always just kept (saying), ‘Keep on fighting, keep on fighting, and something good will happen,’” a jubilant Orgeron said afterward. “And it worked. What a way to end that game."
A&M is now 0-2 under Fisher in games at Death Valley. In 2019, the Aggies fell 50-7 as LSU would go on to post a 15-0 record, winning the national championship under Orgeron and Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow.
The Aggies have not won at Tiger Stadium since since 1994, when R.C. Slocum was A&M coach. Depending on the outcome of the bowl game, the Aggies will either finished for the second straight season with nine wins, or eight as they did in 2019.
A&M was one of six teams ranked in the final AP poll of the 2021 season. Georgia remained at No. 1 following its win Georgia Tech. Alabama moved to No. 4 following a four-overtime victory over Auburn in the Iron Bowl.
Ole Miss remains at No. 8 following its 31-21 win over Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl. Arkansas moves from No. 25 to No. 23 after defeating Missouri. Kentucky, which took care of business against in-state rival Louisville, rounds out the group at No. 25.
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