Post-Game Review: LSU 34, Texas A&M 10

BATON ROUGE, La. — Texas A&M’s defense struggled and its offense was strangled in a 34-10 loss to LSU Saturday night at Tiger Stadium.

In past games quarterback Johnny Manziel and the A&M offense typically compensated for A&M’s defensive problems. But Manziel managed just one touchdown pass and the Aggies sputtered. Meanwhile, A&M’s defense could not slow down the LSU running game, gave up too many big plays and was often vulnerable on third down.

The Aggies fell to 8-3 and out of consideration for the Sugar Bowl.

Rising: The possibility that Texas A&M will spend New Year’s Eve in Atlanta. The Aggies were hoping two more victories would vault them into the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. That’s no longer an option. The general school of thought was that if the Aggies won one of their final two games they would be destined for the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Fla.

But based on Saturday’s showing, A&M can’t take a win over Missouri next week for granted. If the Aggies lose in Columbia, many observers project they will go to the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta.

Falling: Manziel’s Heisman Trophy candidacy was derailed. Many Heisman observers believed Manziel would join Ohio State’s Archie Griffin as the only two-time recipient of college football’s highest individual honor if he could lead the Aggies to victory in their final two games. But Manziel did not play well in the loss to LSU. He completed just 16 of 41 passes for 224 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions.

With Florida State’s Jameis Winston possibly facing sexual assault charges, the Heisman race appears wide open. Perhaps Manziel could get back in contention with a strong showing next week against Missouri, but more than likely Baylor’s Bryce Petty or Alabama’s A.J. McCarron are now the leading candidates.

Best hit: Midway through the first quarter, Louisiana natives Ivan Robinson and Julien Obioha combined to stop a quarterback sneak by LSU backup Anthony Jennings short of a first down on fourth-and-one. The play gave the Aggies the football at the LSU 39-yard line. However, the A&M offense couldn’t capitalize and turned the ball over on downs four plays later.

Best hands: While A&M receivers dropped several passes, LSU’s Jarvis Landry seemed to catch everything that Zach Mettenberger threw in his direction. Landry caught four passes for 87 yards, including touchdown grabs of 10 and 40 yards.

Turning point: Although LSU dominated play in the first half, the Aggies pulled within 14-3 with six minutes remaining in the second quarter. On the ensuing possession, a couple of penalties left LSU backed up on its own three-yard line and facing third-and-16. A stop there would have forced a punt and given the Aggies good field position.

Instead, Mettenberger completed a pass to Odell Beckham, Jr. for 19 yards and a first down. That eventually led to a 40-yard touchdown pass to Landry that gave LSU a 21-3 lead. The Aggies never got closer than 11 points again.

Standing 'O': Josh Lambo was called on midway through the second quarter to attempt a 41-yard field goal. He nailed it. Derel Walker also made a nice catch for a 51-yard touchdown just before halftime.

There really wasn’t much more than that to applaud.