AggieHuddle.com’s breakdown of the matchup between No. 23 Texas A&M (2-1, 0-1 SEC) and No. 10 LSU (2-1, 0-1) begins with at look at the Aggie offense against the Tigers defense.

Where, when, Weather and TV

Where: Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, La.

When: 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26

Weather: Partly cloudy, high of 89; likely around 85 degrees at kickoff and dropping into the 70s during the game.

TV: ABC (Joe Tessitore, play-by-play; Jesse Palmer, analyst; Kris Budden, sideline)

Texas A&M offensive depth chart

QB

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
10	Marcel Reed	6-1, 185	Sr.
13	Brady Hart	6-4, 200	So.
16	Helaman Casuga	6, 213	Fr.

RB

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
4	Rueben Owens	5-11, 215	Sr.
OR 2	Jamarion Morrow	5-9, 200	So.
22	Carsyn Baker	6, 210	Fr.
OR 0	KJ Edwards	5-10, 197	Fr.

WR 

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
1	Mario Craver	5-9, 180	Jr.
11	Kelshaun Johnson	5-11, 173	So.

WR

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
7	Isaiah Horton	6-4, 215	Gr.
3	Aaron Gregory	6-2, 191	Fr.
OR 81	Jayden Warren	6-1, 214	Fr.

WR

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
8	Ashton Bethel-Roman	6, 193	Jr.
18	TK Norman	6, 186	So.

TE

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
88	Micah Riley	6-5, 263	5th
OR 84	Richie Anderson	6-4, 265	Sr.
OR 87	Houston Thomas	6-5, 252	Gr.
OR 9	Kiotti Armstrong	6-5, 285	So.

LT

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
71	Tyree Adams	6-7, 305	Sr.
79	Lamont Rogers	6-6, 340	So.

LG

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
52	Blake Ivy	6-3, 324	Jr.
OR 77	Tyler Thomas	6-4, 350	So.

C

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
54	Mark Nabou Jr.	6-4, 307	Gr.
78	Coen Echols	6-4, 305	Jr.
54	Sam Roseborough	6-3, 303	Fr..

RG

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
76	Trovon Baugh	6-4, 335	Gr.
OR 78	Coen Echols	6-4, 305	Jr.

RT

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
75	Wilkin Formby	6-7, 320	Gr.
70	Robert Bourdon	6-6, 312	Jr.
74	Zaden Krempin	6-4, 298	Fr.

Texas A&M injury report

WR Terry Bussey (knee) is out for the year.

WR Ashton-Bethel Roman and RB Jamarion Morrow were listed as questionable on the Thursday night SEC injury report.

Texas A&M statistical leaders

Passing: Reed, 62-104 (59.6%), 632 yards, 6 TD, 3 INT

Hart, 4-8, 36 yards, 1 TD

Rushing: Owens, 45 carries, 186 yards (4.1 YPC), 1 TD

Reed, 24 carries, 117 yards (4.9 YPC) 1 TD

Edwards, 13 carries, 94 yards (7.2 YPC)

Receiving: Craver, 19 catches, 194 yards (10.2 YPC), 2 TD

Horton, 12 catches, 170 yards (14.2 YPC), 3 TD

Bussey, 7 catches, 92 yards (13.1 YPC)

LSU Depth Chart

EDGE

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
1	Princewill Umanmielen	6-4. 256	Sr.
48	Kolaj Cobbins	6-3, 243	So.

DT

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
90	Stephiylan Green	6-3, 298	Sr.
96	Dominick McKinley	6-6, 298	Jr.

DT

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
99	Deuce Geralds	6-1, 285	Fr.
47	Malik Blocton	6-3, 291	Jr.

JACK

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
29	Jordan Ross	6-5, 254	Jr.
97	Dylan Carpenter	6-3, 248	Sr.

WILL

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
7	Whit Weeks	6-3, 226	Sr.
26	Charles Ross II	6-1, 217	So.

MIKE

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
6	TJ Dottery	6-2, 232	5th
42	Davhon Keys	6, 229	Jr.

STAR

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
31	CJ Jimcoily	6-3, 220	So.
46	Seth Knothe	6-1, 218	5th

CB

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
5	DJ Pickett	6-4, 196	So.
22	Havon Finney Jr.	6-1, 178	Fr.

SS

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
2	Ty Benefield	6-3, 216	Sr.
13	Faheem Delane	6-2, 216	So.

FS

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
0	Tamarcus Cooley	6, 209	Sr.
28	Jhase Thomas	6-1, 186	So.

CB

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
11	PJ Woodland	5-11, 172	Jr.
8	Ja’Keem Jackson	6, 197	Sr.

LSU Injury report

STAR Dashawn Spears is out for the year.

CB Jakeem Jackson is doubtful.

S Tamarcus Cooley is questionable.

LSU Statistical Leaders

Tackles: Weeks, 20

Dottery, 19

Umanmeilen, 15

Tackles for loss: Umanmeilen, 7.5

Ross, 4

Weeks, 2.5

Sacks: Umanmeilen, 6

Geralds, 2

Ross, 1.5

Interceptions: Pickett, Jackson and Ross, 1

Forced fumbles: Dottery, 2

Geralds, 1

Fumble recoveries: Cooley and Thomas, 1

Head To Head

Category	Texas A&M offense	National/ SEC rank	Category	LSU defense	National/ SEC rank
Scoring offense	39.7 PPG	32nd/8th	Scoring defense	18.7 PPG	113th/ 16th
Total offense	394.3 YPG	75th/12th	Total defense	236.7 YPG	13th/3rd
Rushing offense	171.7 YPG	60th/10th	Rushing defense	33 YPG	1st
Passing offense	222.7 YPG	74th/14th	Passing yards allowed	203.7 YPG	69th/8th
First downs	72	38th/10th	First downs allowed	41	18th/4th
3rd down %	44.2%	56th/12th	3rd down defense	31%	40th/7th
Red zone %	82.4%	92nd/14th	Red zone defense	85.7%	73rd/6th
Turnovers	4	72nd/7th	Turnovers forced	5	29th/5th
Turnover +/-	Plus-2	35th/5th	Turnover +/-	Minus-1	87th/12th
TFL allowed	3.67/ game	28th/4th	TFL	8.7/game	6th/1st
Sacks allowed	1.33/ game	54th/7th	Team sacks	4.67/ game	1st
TOP	34:28	7th/1st	TOP	33:32	17th/3rd

What the Aggies want to do

Establish the running game and work off of that. A&M had its best rushing performance of the year against Kentucky, and Reed had a lot to do with that, picking up 80 yards on his own. Reed’s legs have caused serious problems for LSU in the last two matchups between these two teams, both of which ended up being A&M blowouts.

The offensive line showed some signs of life against Kentucky, but they’re going to have to play their best game of the season by far against the Tigers. LSU held Ole Miss to 63 yards on 25 carries, as Kewan Lacy got banged up and only carried the ball nine times for 43 yards and a score. LSU held Louisiana Tech to -4 yards rushing, so they’re tough on the run. Rueben Owens, KJ Edwards and (hopefully) Jamarion Morrow will have to show up and be ready to fight for tough yardage.

But the Tigers haven’t faced a running quarterback yet, and Reed has burned them before with his feet — badly. It’s likely the Aggies will use some RPO looks, a lot of motion to try to get the ball out on jet sweeps and get Reed on the perimeter where he can either throw or run. He knows not to hesitate if he has a chance to go this weekend.

The other thing the Aggies want to do is get Reed out of his own head. It would be nice to see A&M go uptempo and maybe they will at times, but this is a situation where they need to get the ball out of Reed’s hands quickly if possible. It’s not just because of LSU’s pass rush, which already has 14 sacks, but to just let him get into a rhythm and not overthink things.

The Aggies still have weapons on offense. It’s time to get them going, and it starts with Reed and making sure he doesn’t feel like he has to carry the team.

How LSU may try to respond

Keep Reed in the pocket and make the Aggies one-dimensional. A&M has to get something going on the ground because the Tigers have been ferocious rushing the passer so far. Princewill Umanmeilen has more sacks on his own than the entire Aggie defense.

LSU knows full well what Reed has done to them with his legs the past two seasons, and someone — Dottery or Weeks, likely — will be used to spy him. They’re going to dare Reed to throw and to beat him with his arm. Last year Reed torched LSU with his scrambling ability, not just designed runs, which makes a spy all the more important.

LSU has given up 33 yards a game on the ground and have shown plenty of team speed. If anything, they’re a bit undersized up front because the premium is placed on speed, which has worked out well so far.

The secondary is a little suspect and the Tigers will have to break in a new STAR after losing Dashawn Spears for the year last weekend. They may also be missing corner Ja’Keem Jackson, who picked off a pass last weekend against Ole Miss — a game in which the Tigers gave up 363 yards through the air. A&M’s receivers, primarily Craver and Horton, can pick on opposing defenses given the opportunity.

LSU knows Reed didn’t play well last week and has been average at best so far this season. They also know that he lit Tiger Stadium up like a Christmas Tree last year and don’t want a repeat of that. Keeping him in the pocket and facing consistent pressure would be a good way to stop it.

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