Post Game Review: No. 22 Texas A&M 74, No. 7 LSU 72 (7 OT)

Quartney Davis scored a miraculous touchdown on the final play of regulation, and then No. 22 Texas A&M outlasted No. 7 LSU in seven overtimes to capture a thrilling 74-72 Southeastern Conference football victory on Saturday night at Kyle Field.

It was the highest-scoring game in Football Bowl Series history.

A&M (8-4, 5-3) put an end a seven-game losing streak to LSU (9-3, 5-3).

Trailing 72-66, the Aggies faced third-and-15 at the 17-yard line. Quarterback Kellen Mond then rifled a tying touchdown pass to Davis, who had beaten cornerback Kary Vincent on a slant.

Then on the required two-point conversion, Mond hit Kendrick Rogers in the back left of the south end zone to clinch the victory.

Mond finished with six touchdown passes with two each going to Davis, Rogers and Jace Sternberger. Four touchdown passes came in overtime.

None of those would have been possible if not for a 19-yard strike to Davis to complete a wild 12-play, 78-yard drive with no time left on the clock.

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Kellen Mond made clutch plays down the stretch to force overtime.

LSU appeared to have won in regulation when Mond appeared to throw an interception in the final minute. Instead, replays showed his knee had touched the turf as he tried to field an errant snap.

That resulted in an 8-yard loss with 20 seconds remaining.

On fourth-and-18 Mond connected with Davis for a 20-yard gain. He followed with a 22-yard completion to Rogers for a first down at the 19-yard with three seconds remaining.

The Aggies rushed to spike the ball, but no time was showing on the clock after the play. After a review, one second was added.

That’s all the time they needed.

Mond then hit Davis for the touchdown.

The teams punched toe-to-toe until the seventh overtime.

LSU had the football first and Joe Burrow ran 10 yards for his third touchdown. However, his pass on the two-point conversion attempt was deflected by Landis Durham.

Receiver Dee Anderson reeled in the fluttering ball, but was smothered by a group of tacklers inside the 5-yard line.

That left an opening for the Aggies.

Trayveon Williams, who rushed for two touchdowns but lost a costly fumble that LSU returned for a score, ran for 12 yards on the first play of the overtime period.

However, Mond was thrown for a loss of five on the next play. He then threw incomplete for Sternberger.

That brought up third down and Mond drilled a perfect throw to Davis for the touchdown. He then lofted a fade pass to the 6-foot-4 Rogers for the game-winning conversion.

RUMBLED: Take your pick: Kellen Mond threw six touchdown passes. Quartney Davis caught two — one to force overtime and one that set up the game-winning score in the seventh extended period. Trayveon Williams rushed for 198 yards and two touchdowns. Jace Sternberger and Kendrick Rogers also caught two touchdown passes. Seth Small kicked three field goals. Clearly, there was a lot of rumbling.

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Trayveon Williams had a great game, but a costly turnover kept LSU in it.

STUMBLED: Although Williams had a big day, he also had a big mistake that almost cost the Aggies the victory. Early in the fourth quarter the Aggies held a 24-17 lead and had first down at the LSU 40-yard line. Williams caught a swing pass from Mond, but was stripped of the football by LSU’s Devin White. Michael Divinity scooped up the fumble and dashed 58 yards for a tying touchdown.

UNSUNG HERO: Lost in the offensive explosion was the fact that senior linebacker Otaro Alaka was brilliant in his final game at Kyle Field. He posted 11 tackles, including 2 sacks and 2.5 stops for lost yardage.

TURNING POINT: One second was put back on the clock at the end of regulation to give A&M one more play. The Aggies capitalized on that chance with Mond hitting Davis for a 19-yard touchdown to force overtime. There were multiple big plays in overtime including the incompletion on LSU’s final two-point conversion attempt which gave A&M a chance to win on its following series. But none of it happens without Davis’ touchdown on the final play of regulation.

KEY STAT: There isn’t just one. Mond threw for 287 yards and 6 touchdowns against the LSU secondary, which many believe is the best in the nation. The Aggies also converted 11 of 22 third down situations. They also converted 2 of 3 on fourth down. 

Scoring summary

First quarter:

A&M: Trayveon Williams 10 run (Seth Small kick). Drive: 95 yards, 10 plays, 4:28. Big play: Williams 24-yard run plus a 15-yard face mask penalty on Kary Vincent to the LSU 20-yard line. A&M 7, LSU 0

LSU: Joe Burrow 22 run (Cole Tracy kick). Drive: 75 yards, 12 plays, 5:43. Big play: Burrow 7-yard scramble on third-and-5 to the A&M 25-yard line. A&M 7, LSU 7

Second quarter:

A&M: Jace Sternberger 10 pass from Kellen Mond (Small kick). Drive: 75 yards, 12 plays, 5:17. Big play: Jhamon Ausbon 13 pass from Mond on third-and-8 to the LSU 40-yard line. A&M 14, LSU 7

A&M: Small 33 FG. Drive: 53 yards, 8 plays, 3:38. Big play: Sternberger 36 pass from Mond on third-and-8 to the LSU 19-yard line. A&M 17, LSU 7

LSU: Tracy 47 FG. Drive: 36 yards, 12 plays, 1:52. Big play: Ja’Marr Chase 11 pass from Burrow on third-and-10 to the LSU 46-yard line. A&M 17, LSU 10

Third quarter:

LSU: Justin Jefferson 7 pass from Burrow (Tracy kick). Drive: 90 yards, 15 plays, 6:15. Big play: Burrow 13-yard scramble on third-and-eight to the A&M 21-yard line. A&M 17, LSU 17

A&M: Williams 1 run (Small kick). Drive: 29 yards, 8 plays, 3:43. Big play: Buddy Johnson recovers Jonathan Giles fumbled punt at the LSU 29-yard line. A&M 24, LSU 17

Fourth quarter:

LSU: Michael Divinity 58 fumble return (Tracy kick). A&M 24, LSU 24

LSU: Foster Moreau 14 pass from Burrow (Tracy kick). Drive: 76 yards, 4 plays, 2:00. Big play: Lanard Fournette 46 run to the A&M 30-yard line. LSU 31, A&M 24

A&M: Quartney Davis 19 pass from Mond (Small kick). Drive: 78 yards, 12 plays, 1:29. Big play: Kendrick Rogers 22 pass from Mond to the LSU 19-yard line. A&M 31, LSU 31

First Overtime:

LSU: Tracy 50 FG. LSU 34, A&M 31

A&M: Small 23 FG. A&M 34, LSU 34

Second Overtime:

A&M: Mond 3 run (Small kick). A&M 41, LSU 34

LSU: Nick Brossette 3 run (Tracy kick). A&M 41, LSU 41

Third Overtime:

LSU: Dee Anderson 25 pass from Burrow (Burrow pass to Jefferson). LSU 49, A&M 41

A&M: Rogers 25 pass from Mond (Mond pass to Rogers). A&M 49, LSU 49

Fourth Overtime:

A&M: Small 21 FG. A&M 52, LSU 49

LSU: Tracy 26 FG. A&M 52, LSU 52

Fifth Overtime:

LSU: Tory Carter 11 pass from Lanard Fournette (Burrow pass failed). LSU 58, A&M 52

A&M: Rogers 6 pass from Mond (Pass failed). A&M 58, LSU 58

Sixth Overtime:

A&M: Sternberger 25 pass from Mond (Mond pass to Rogers). A&M 66, LSU 58

LSU: Burrow 4 run (Burrow pass to Anderson). A&M 66, LSU 66

Seventh Overtime:

LSU: Burrow 10 run (Burrow pass failed). LSU 72, A&M 6

A&M: Davis 17 pass from Mond (Mond pass to Rogers). A&M 74, LSU 72