Texas A&M @ LSU preview
Tiger Stadium
Last Meeting ( Oct 20, 2012 ) Louisiana State 24, Texas A&M 19
The road has been surprisingly kind to No. 10 Texas A&M, which looks for a school-record 11th consecutive win away from home when it travels into one of the Southeastern Conference's most hostile environments to face No. 19 Louisiana State on Saturday. LSU is 55-7 in Tiger Stadium during coach Les Miles' nine-year tenure, but the Aggies have won in their last two trips there, most recently in 1994. Texas A&M has yet to lose a road game under second-year coach Kevin Sumlin, whose personal road winning streak is up to 15 games dating to his time at Houston.
The Aggies are out of the SEC championship race, but they still have a shot at playing their way into a BCS bowl if they can survive tough games at LSU and Missouri. "We're going to have to play well to win against both these teams," Sumlin told reporters. "They say (Tiger Stadium) is where teams' dreams go to die. We're trying to keep our dreams alive." The Tigers had an open week to lick their wounds following a 38-17 loss at Alabama their last time out; they've fared well in this situation under Miles, going 22-1 following a loss with their lone consecutive defeats coming in 2008.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: LSU -4.5
ABOUT TEXAS A&M (8-2, 4-2 SEC): The Aggies' offense has been unstoppable, topping 40 points in 13 consecutive games and going over 500 total yards in nine straight. The catalyst, of course, is reigning Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, who leads the nation in completion percentage (73), ranks second in total offense (3,924) and ranks third in passer efficiency (186.86). The Aggies have needed every bit of that prolific offense thanks to a defense that allows 454.4 yards and 30.9 points per contest and has a particularly tough time stopping the run.
ABOUT LSU (7-3, 3-3 SEC): The Tigers are far more balanced than the Aggies, if not nearly as explosive. Quarterback Zach Mettenberger (2,733 passing yards, 20 TDs) is nursing a sore ankle but is expected to play and needs 93 passing yards to pass Matt Mauck for third on LSU's single-season list. The defense had its share of struggles early in the season but has rounded into form - especially against the pass - and allows just 14.6 points per game at home.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Texas A&M has scored first in 22 of 23 games under coach Kevin Sumlin and has produced a touchdown on its opening drive in 17 of those 23 contests.
2. LSU WR/KR Odell Beckham Jr. (2,090) needs 31 all-purpose yards to break Domanick Davis' single-season school mark set in 2002 and 307 to break the SEC mark set by Kentucky's Randall Cobb in 2010.
3. The Aggies have produced points on 56 of 67 trips to the red zone and scored touchdowns on 49 of those possessions.
PREDICTION: Texas A&M 38, LSU 35