The winner of the clash between LSU and Texas A&M will have an inside track to the Southeastern Conference title game.
At the start of the season, only the most optimistic fans could’ve imagined that possibility. But now, it’s a reality, thanks to each team’s six-game winning streak and the losses that shook up the top of the conference. Both the No. 8 Tigers and the No. 14 Aggies are firmly in the race for one of the 12 spots inside the College Football Playoff.
Can LSU pull off a second straight road win?
Here are four keys to a Tigers win over Texas A&M (6:30 p.m., ABC).
1. Load the box
LSU can make Texas A&M’s offense one-dimensional. But first, it needs to stop the run. The Aggies have one of the 15 best rushing offenses in the country, and Le’Veon Moss, a former Istrouma star, leads all Southeastern Conference tailbacks in rushing yards and rushing efficiency. LSU should stack the box and force Texas A&M to pass. It ranks near the bottom of the SEC in both passing offense and passing efficiency, and Conner Weigman is throwing for fewer than 200 yards per game.
2. Drive into the red zone
For LSU, the good news is that its offense can score on Texas A&M in the red zone. The bad news is that the Aggies will make it tough for it to get there. Only 11 FBS teams have allowed fewer red zone chances than Texas A&M. However, no SEC team has allowed its opponents to convert their red zone chances at a higher rate than the Aggies, whose opponents have scored on 14 of their 16 trips inside the 20.
3. Establish the run
Texas A&M’s defense has fared better against the pass than it has against the run. The Aggies are allowing 116 rushing yards per game, the 36th-most in the country and the 11th-most in the SEC. LSU has already faced four more highly ranked run defenses — South Carolina, UCLA, Ole Miss and Arkansas — and it feels like it’s on the verge of finding a more consistent ground game. Establish the run, stick with it and control the pace of the game.
4. Clean up the penalties
LSU’s offense committed 11 penalties in its win over Arkansas. Almost all of those infractions were procedural. The Tigers got away with the rash of penalties because their offense drove into Arkansas territory, where it could kick field goals, and because their defense held the Razorbacks to 10 points. LSU needs to be sharper on the road at Texas A&M. It will be louder in College Station, Texas, than it was in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and the stakes are much higher.