How will LSU handle Texas A&M's defense? Answering your questions about the Tigers.

LSU will play perhaps its toughest game of the season Saturday night against Texas A&M, a matchup with Southeastern Conference championship and College Football Playoff implications.

Before the game, fans asked about Texas A&M's defense, why quarterback Garrett Nussmeier still isn't running the ball much, a tweak to the offensive personnel and more.

Questions for this weekly Q&A were pulled from social media and an online submission form found here. They have been edited for length and clarity.

Is LSU's offense prepared for A&M's potent defense? — Jack F.

This looks similar to the South Carolina and Ole Miss matchups. Both of those teams have good defensive fronts, and so does Texas A&M. Only this time, LSU has to play on the road at night. The Tigers have to eliminate the false starts that hampered them against Arkansas, and their offensive line’s experience needs to show up.

Texas A&M has allowed 17.7 points per game. A big reason why a stingy front. Nic Scourton has 11 tackles for loss, the second-most in the SEC, and 8 ½ have come in four SEC games. Shemar Turner finished with six tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack against Mississippi State.

Luckily for LSU, it has the best pass protection in the country, which was an advantage against South Carolina and Ole Miss. That should be again, but the improvement the Tigers showed in the run game against Arkansas has to continue this weekend.

LSU has played three SEC games, and it scored more than 30 points in the two in which it rushed for more than 100 yards. When it had 84 on the ground against Ole Miss, the Tigers needed Nussmeier's heroics to generate enough offense.

That won’t be easy. Texas A&M has held its opponents to less than 100 yards rushing in four of the past five games. But if LSU can run the ball well enough to give the offense balance, it can reach manageable third downs and help open things in the passing game.

Texas A&M ranks 16th nationally in third down defense, so you don’t want to end up in long third downs against a team with eight interceptions. Cornerback Will Lee, someone who LSU looked at in the transfer portal coming out of Kansas State, ranks second in the SEC with nine passes defended.

Does Nussmeier prefer not to run or is he under orders from the coaching staff not to? — John B.

LSU’s coaches want him to sometimes. Nussmeier said Brian Kelly is the first one to tell him “pull the ball” after a missed read. That has never been part of his game, so Nussmeier is trying to learn when to use his legs.

“That's been something I've been battling,” Nussmeier said. “For so long, I've always relied on my arm to make a play. For me, it's finding the switch of when to actually turn it off and go.”

LSU showed a new jumbo package with Bo Bordelon lined up as a tight end. He had a false start and they pulled him. Is this a move to beef up the run game, and will this be something permanent moving forward? — Bobby G.

Bordelon showed up in that role here and there earlier in the season. He has been wearing No. 89 for a few games now. But LSU used him as an extra blocking tight end more often against Arkansas. The only other games in which Bordelon played more snaps were Nicholls and South Alabama. This was the first time his involvement increased against a major team.

Bordelon went on the field with the first-team offense nine times Saturday. Three of those plays were wiped out by penalties — one on him — so he had six total plays before entering with the backups at the end of the game.

Bordelon generally appeared in short-yardage situations as an extra run blocker. He was on the field for Caden Durham’s two short touchdown runs. But LSU did a good job of avoiding tendencies with him in the game, running four times and passing twice. He also appeared on two first-and-10s.

One would think Bordelon continues to play tight end in a limited capacity, especially after LSU was more successful in short-yardage situations against Arkansas. He’s 6-foot-6 and 310 pounds, and he’s a better in-line blocker than backup tight end Ka’Morreun Pimpton.

Another game and still no screen passes. Why doesn't LSU run any screen passes? — John D.

They aren’t part of what this offense will do with Nussmeier at quarterback. LSU built the passing game around progression reads, which fits his ability to process and make difficult throws. Kelly thinks this approach works better than relying on screens and quick passes to the perimeter.

“It's much more difficult to defend because you don't know where the ball is going,” Kelly said. “We're able to move the ball all over the field. It makes it much more difficult for you to roll coverages, isolate particular players. When you're in a full field progression, there's a little bit more there relative to opportunities.

“With that, you're not getting some of the cupcake throws that keep the chains moving in some other offenses, so percentages tend to dip a little bit because of that. But we feel like that is a better fit for Garrett in terms of what he does, and it has worked pretty good for our offense.”

How come Kaleb Jackson doesn't get more carries? He is a bruiser back who would soften defenses up for Caden Durham. — Jeffery L.

Jackson had not played well enough the first half of the season. He only averaged 3.04 yards per carry through six games, so his involvement in the offense went down. But Jackson looked better against Arkansas, rushing five times for 30 yards. His 6 yards per carry was a season-high.

That could be a sign of things to come, especially if LSU has figured out something in the run game. Durham should be the lead back at this point, but Jackson still has potential.