The 4-7 Texas A&M Aggies want this season to be over. An uninspired 20-6 over UMass last weekend did nothing to please the fanbase.
By Steve Wright
Follow @14powerscom
Now, during rivalry week, Texas A&M gets to play the 9-2 LSU Tigers as they use this game to prepare for the SEC Title Game in Atlanta next weekend.
Here are the three keys if the Aggies are to play spoiler.
1 – Level of investment
It was entirely clear that Texas A&M didn’t care about the UMass game. This permeated down from the coaches to the players to the fans. That is a terrible UMass team, and the Aggies went 2-for-10 on third down against them. If they play like that against LSU, then they will lose by 50. Thankfully, this won’t be the case. This is a night game against an LSU team with a ton to play for. The Aggies will want to play spoiler, so the level of investment by all involved has to be at the right level.
2 – Stop Jayden Daniels
Jayden Daniels is an interesting quarterback. The Arizona State transfer doesn’t get the love of other quarterbacks in the league – he isn’t hugely flashy and doesn’t put up monster numbers – but he is a dual threat that is always at his best with the game on the line. Daniels does a great job of limiting his mistakes – he has just two picks to 15 touchdown passes on the season, which often helps LSU overcome their slow starts to games. Daniels is the No. 6 rated passer in the league, and he will need to be contained.
3 – The Offense Has to Show Up
The most annoying thing about this season is that the Aggies’ defense has been good. They are second in the nation, giving up just 152.5 yards passing a game, and No. 30 in the country in points given up per game at 21.0. The rushing defense – 211.0 yards per game – has been exploited, but when the offense ranks in the 90s in stats like rushing yards and total yards, there is only so much the defense can do. Injuries have been a factor, but the Aggies’ offense has to find an identity for its final game of the season.
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