Reed's relief rallies Ags back from two-score, second-half deficit vs. LSU

Click HERE to view Texas A&M’s postgame press conference.

Like a card shark in a high-stakes poker game, Texas A&M football coach Mike Elko waited for just the right time to show his hand on Saturday night.

Reed ‘em and weep.

Freshman backup quarterback Marcel Reed came off the bench midway through the third quarter to replace Conner Weigman and launched an improbable surge which left the No. 14 Aggies (7-1, 5-0) as the only remaining unbeaten team in Southeastern Conference play.

Threes were wild. Reed ran for three touchdowns. The defense snatched three second-half interceptions. Reed kneeled three straight times to run out the clock on an incredible 38-23 victory over No. 8 LSU before a full house at Kyle Field.

“Unbelievable credit to Marcel Reed, you know, to be ready to go tonight,” Elko said. “We just felt like things weren’t moving the way we wanted to. It certainly wasn’t Conner’s fault.

“There weren't a lot of open windows. We couldn’t get the passing game unglued at all. We couldn’t call it right. I couldn’t get them to run it right. We couldn’t get open. It was just a litany of problems.

"And we just felt like we needed a spark, and we pulled the trigger and went with Marcel. And what a spark he gave us.”

Spark, nothing. Reed ignited an offensive inferno.

Reed rushed for 62 yards. He threw just two passes, but completed them both for 70 yards. He led the Aggies to scores on every drive he led except the one on which he thrice knelt to run out the final two minutes.

After Reed's entry, the first and second halves were as different as A&M’s black uniforms and LSU’s white-on-white ensemble.

In the first half, A&M’s secondary was a sieve. LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier passed for 259 yards and two touchdowns. But in the second half, he threw three interceptions.

Meanwhile, A&M’s offense, especially the passing game, was seemingly stuck in neutral. In a traffic jam. At rush hour. In Houston.

A&M managed a seven-yard touchdown run from Le’Veon Moss to go into halftime with a 10-point, 17-7 deficit.

That felt insurmountable, especially after A&M punted on its first two series of the third quarter.

But then nickelback BJ Mayes intercepted a Nussmeier pass and returned it to the LSU eight-yard line with 8:17 left in the third quarter.

That’s when Elko sent in Reed to replace the struggling Weigman.

On his first play, the speedy Reed faked an inside handoff and outran LSU’s pursuit to the left corner of the south end zone to cut the deficit to 17-14.

Reed next capped a 60-yard drive with another eight-yard run to give the Aggies a 21-17 lead.

Then came another Mayes interception, which led to another Reed touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.

LSU responded immediately to pull within 28-23 via a Nussmeier touchdown on a one-yard quarterback sneak.

Jamie Maury

Now sitting at 7-1 overall and 5-0 in the SEC, Texas A&M is officially off to its best start in league play in program history.

But on the first play after the ensuing kickoff, Reed arced a deep pass for Noah Thomas for a 54-yard gain. It was one of just two passes Reed threw, but set up a three-yard Moss touchdown for a 35-23 lead.

Another interception — this time by Tauren York — led to a 26-yard Randy Bond field goal that ended the scoring.

But Reed’s second-half brilliance will start more calls for him to return to the starting lineup.

Last month, Reed started in victories over Florida, Bowling Green and Arkansas while Weigman was sidelined with a sprained shoulder.

Despite the demotion, Reed never lost confidence. He never complained when benched, either.

“I really wasn’t disappointed,” Reed said. “The team’s got a lot of faith in Conner. I have got a lot of faith in Conner, and so do the coaches.

“It was his job before it was mine, and you can’t take a job away from injury. I mean, I gave the team an opportunity to stay in this race going 3-and-0. But Conner is still a great quarterback, and he’s done everything he can for this team, and he got us some wins, too.”

The Aggies have five wins in the SEC race. They sit alone atop the SEC standings with three league games to go. But Elko and his team aren’t celebrating too much.

His focus is already on next week’s road trip to South Carolina.

Jamie Maury

In the first year of the Elko Era, the Aggies have defeated two top-10 opponents (Missouri, LSU) at Kyle Field in the same season for the first time since 1989.

Still, it’s a remarkable turnaround. This time a year ago, the Aggies were floundering with three losses on the way to a 7-6 finish.

Now, they’ve got the inside track to the SEC championship game and are building a hell of a resume for the 12-team College Football Playoff.

The college football population is surely wondering how Elko has orchestrated such a reversal of fortunes in his first year as A&M's head coach.

“I think it’s the way we talk to young people,” he said. “I think the things we talk about, the messaging, how we bring really good people into the building,” Elko said. “We talk about doing things together, we talk about culture, and everyone talks about it, but then we go out and we live it every day.

“And I think we back up our actions. We’re very honest. We’re very open. And this is a real program.
It’s not fake. It’s not a politician running this program, talking fast and BSing everybody. This is a real
program. And for all the recruits out there, this is a real place. And if you want to be really good at football, this is a really good place to be.”

You can bet on it.