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) continues with a look at the Tigers offense against the Aggie 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)

LSU Depth CHart

QB

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
10	Sam Leavitt	6-2/207	Sr.
8	Husan Longstreet	6-1/200	So.

RB

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
13	Dilin Jones	5-11/206	Jr.
23	Stacy Gage	5-10/204	Jr.

TE

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
44	Zach Grace	6-2/234	Sr.
12	Malachi Thomas	6-3/243	Jr.

WR (X)

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
88	Malik Elzy	6-2/217	Sr.
1	Jace Brown	5-11/176	Sr.

WR (Z)

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
3	Eugene Wilson III	5-11/184	Sr.
4	Jackson Harris	6-2/204	Sr.

WR (SLOT)

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
6	Winston Watkins Jr.	5-10/183	So.
83	Corey Barber Jr.	5-11/183	Fr.

LT

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
77	Jordan Seaton	6-5/311	Jr.
65	Sean Thompkins Jr.	6-5/302	Sr.

LG

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
67	Bo Bordelon	6-6/315	5th
50	Williams Satterwhite II	6-3/298	Jr.

C

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
61	Braelin Moore	6-2/300	5th
51	Ryan Miret	6-4/309	Fr.

RG

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
55	Aliou Bah	6-5/320	5th
70	Devin Harper	6-4/309	So.

RT

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
75	Weston Davis	6-6/310	Jr.
69	Darrin Strey	6-7/313	So.

LSU Injury update

TE Trey’Dez Green (leg) is out.

LSU Statistical Leaders

Passing: Leavitt, 57-93 (61.3%), 732 yards, 3 TD, 5 INT

Landen Clark, 7-10, 109 yards, 1 TD

Rushing: Jones, 64 carries, 285 yards (4.5 YPC), 3 TD

Leavitt, 40 carries, 198 yards (5 YPC), 6 TD

Gage, 15 carries, 56 yards (3.7 YPC)

Receiving: Green, 14 catches, 222 yards (15.9 YPC), 1 TD

Watkins, 15 catches, 207 yards (13.8 YPC), 2 TD

Wilson, 12 catches, 132 yards (11 YPC)

Texas A&M Depth Chart

DE

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
18	T.J. Searcy	6-5, 260	Sr.
14	Anto Saka	6-4, 255	Gr.
16	Bryce Perry-Wright	6-2, 269	Fr.

DT

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
5	DJ Hicks	6-3, 293	Sr.
99	Landon Rink	6-2, 295	So.
11	Brandon Davis-Swain	6-4, 307	Jr.

DT

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
92	CJ Mims	6-2, 312	5th
OR 94	Angelo McCullom	6-2, 317	Jr.
88	DJ Sanders	6-3, 316	So.

DE

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
10	Marco Jones	6-5, 261	So.
15	Sam M’Pemba	6-3, 257	Sr.
17	Ryan Henderson	6-3, 255	Gr.
22	Tristan Givens	6-3, 232	Fr.

LB

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
27	Daymion Sanford	6-2, 228	Sr.
OR 0	Noah Mikhail	6-2, 230	So.
25	Tamarion Watkins	6-3, 228	Fr.

LB

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
0	Noah Mikhail	6-2, 230	So.
OR 21	Ray Coney	6-2, 240	Sr.
54	Jordan Lockhart	6-1, 233	Jr.

CB

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
6	Julio Humphrey	6-1, 197	5th
20	Adonyss Currie	6, 181	So.
OR 23	Brandon Arrington	6-2, 201	Freshman

CB

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
2	Dezz Ricks	6-1, 193	Sr.
OR 9	Rickey Gibson III	6, 181	Sr.
21	Vic Singleton	5-11, 175	Fr.

NI

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
8	Jordan Shaw	5-11, 180	Sr.
19	Bravion Rogers	5-11, 186	Sr.
13	Deyjhon Pettaway	5-11, 182	So.
24	Camren Hamiel	5-11, 180	Fr.

S

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
3	Marcus Ratcliffe	6-3, 211	Sr.
13	Myles Davis	6-1, 203	Jr.
22	Tom Tom Johnson	6-1, 201	So.
15	Tylan Wilson	6-1, 204	Fr.

S

Number	Name	Height/Weight	Class
7	Dalton Brooks	6, 202	Sr.
4	Tawfiq Byard	6-1, 198	Sr.
28	Chance Collins	6-1, 201	Fr.

Texas A&M injury update

No reported injuries.

Texas A&M statistical Leaders

Tackles: Mikhail and Coney, 18

Ratcliffe, 15

Tackles for loss: Searcy, 2.5

Henderson, 2

Saka and Coney, 1.5

Sacks: Henderson, Jones, Searcy, 1

Hicks and Saka, .5

Interceptions: Jones and Humphrey, 1

Forced fumbles: Four players with 1

Fumble recoveries: Four players

Head To Head

Category	LSU offense	National/ SEC rank	Category	Texas A&M defense	National/ SEC rank
Scoring offense	40 PPG	28th/7th	Scoring defense	17 PPG	40th/7th
Total offense	500.7 YPG	18th/6th	Total defense	281.3 YPG	37th/7th
Rushing offense	209.3 YPG	37th/7th	Rushing defense	102.7 YPG	42nd/8th
Passing offense	291.3 YPG	26th/4th	Passing yards allowed	178.7 YPG	43rd/6th
First downs	82	8th/1st	First downs allowed	38	13th/3rd
3rd down %	56%	13th/3rd	3rd down defense	22.6%	7th/2nd
Red zone %	83.3%	85th/13th	Red zone defense	83.3%	57th/4th
Turnovers	6	114th/5th	Turnovers forced	6	14th/2nd
Turnover +/-	Minus-1	87th/12th	Turnover +/-	Plus-2	35th/5th
TFL allowed	7.33/ game	130th/15th	TFL	4.7/game	87th/15th
Sacks allowed	2.33/ game	104th/ 14th	Team sacks	1.33/ game	104th/ 16th
TOP	33:32	17th/3rd	TOP	34:28	7th/1st

WHat LSU wants to do

We said yesterday that A&M wants to get the running game going to take some pressure off Marcel Reed, who hasn’t been good so far this year. LSU probably wants to do something similar, because Sam Leavitt has been flat out bad. He threw one interception against Clemson (the first offensive play of the year), three against Louisiana Tech (including a pick-six) and the game loser against Ole Miss last weekend. Like Reed, he’s been very up and down, with the downs being even deeper.

One thing Leavitt has done well is run the football. He’s been able to scramble and make plays with his feet, but that’s not the option Lane Kiffin really wants to see Saturday. He’s probably going to want to go right at the A&M defense with Jones, who gutted his way to more than 100 yards last weekend in Oxford. The Tigers will show the classic Lane Kiffin tempo, but they’re certainly not as fast as they were at Ole Miss — in fact, LSU has held onto the ball more than 33 minutes a game so far this year.

Leavitt has a major issue: his best receiver, tight end Trey’Dez Green, is out for this game. Green was averaging nearly 16 yards a catch and was second on the team in receptions. That means the majority of the passes will be heading to former A&M commit Watkins and Eugene Wilson, who transferred in from Florida.

We know what Kiffin wants to do: move fast, run the ball throw short to moderate passes to set up the big one and get some trickery in there somewhere. They’ll use all four downs. And when Leavitt is on, they’re effective. Getting him there has been the issue.

How A&M may try to counter

How about by being the normal Mike Elko defense and attack? In spite of the coach’s protestations, the Aggies have been vanilla and conservative through three games and the stats bear it out. Elko said that the use of RPO by Missouri State, Arizona State and Kentucky limited the ability to blitz, but that excuse doesn’t hold against LSU. And this is the time to turn it loose.

The Tigers have been getting after the quarterback all year, but their offensive line has had trouble keeping opponents out of the backfield. They’re one of the nation’s worst in terms of tackles for loss allowed and have given up seven sacks already. A&M’s offensive line, for all the grief it has gotten, has given up four. The opportunity to pressure Leavitt will likely be there, and the Aggies have to take advantage of it.

Losing Green is a big blow to the LSU offense and it may allow safeties like Brooks and Ratcliffe to move up closer to the line of scrimmage to attack the run or blitz. Watkins, primarily a slot receiver, will test Jordan Shaw.

The Aggies will likely play more man coverage this week if they get more aggressive. At this point, there’s no reason not to. This is the kind of offense Elko has been waiting to face and the line has struggled so far. The Aggies have the speed to cause problems, and what they’ve been doing before has not worked. So let it rip.

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