Raise a crystal ball, Aggies, and look into the future.
It’s 2027. Lame-duck LSU football coach Lincoln Riley is reportedly in his final game at Death Valley. His underachieving Tigers prevailed in a stunning victory over Texas A&M.
That formula has worked twice for LSU already.
Six years ago Les Miles, reportedly about to be fired, temporarily saved his job with a victory over the Aggies.
And on Saturday night, Ed Orgeron concluded his LSU coaching tenure with a 27-24 Southeastern Conference victory over the enigmatic No. 15-and-falling Aggies (8-4, 4-4).
An amazing A&M fourth-quarter rally was torpedoed when quarterback Max Johnson passed 28 yards to receiver Jaray Jenkins for a touchdown on third-and-10 with 20 seconds remaining to lift LSU (6-6, 3-5).
Orgeron gets the victory but doesn’t really deserve the credit. A&M deserves blame.
A slow start. Questionable clock management. Poor coverage. Dropped passes. A lackluster running game. All those factors resulted in a painfully disappointing end to the Aggies’ regular season.
“Their offense played well tonight and made the plays they needed to make,” A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said. “We couldn’t get our running game going.
Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Jaray Jenkins and the Tigers were able to reel off big plays at key moments.
“In key situations, the defense gave up some big plays. I will have to go back and watch the film, but there were a lot of plays we missed. We dropped some balls. We could’ve blocked better.”
It was a gut-wrenching loss. The kind which can make a coach go from adored to abhorred by a frustrated fan base.
Ask R.C. Slocum. Or Dennis Franchione. Or Kevin Sumlin. Those former A&M coaches were once revered and became reviled.
Fisher is still adored by Aggies…for now. That adulation spiked with a fourth-quarter rally that put A&M on the verge of getting its first win at Death Valley since Slocum triumphed 18-13 in 1994.
A monster pass rush led by Micheal “Cyclops” Clemons and a couple of clutch touchdown passes from the forgiven (Zach Calzada) to the forgotten (Jalen Preston) enabled the Aggies to rally from a 10-point deficit to take a lead in the fourth quarter.
Clemons had four of A&M’s six sacks. All came in the second half. Calzada hit Preston for a 15-yard touchdown with 14:22 left. He eluded two tacklers and angled across the field to turn a short pass into a 32-yard score with 7:33 remaining.
Later, A&M had a 24-20 advantage and the football at its own 17-yard line with just over two minutes to play. LSU had just one timeout remaining.
Fisher might have looked to Isaiah Spiller or Devon Achane to attempt to run for the first down. Instead, Calzada passed to tight end Jalen Wydermyer on an ill-fated route that lost two yards when the Aggies needed to gain two.
“I thought he battled. I thought he competed and made plays and scrambled and made some big-time throws to help us. I thought he battled hard and had some great plays and put us in a position to win the game.”
- Jimbo Fisher on Zach Calzada
A 53-yard Nik Constantinou punt and LSU penalty put the Tigers at their own 15-yard line with 1:58 remaining.
First, they converted on fourth-and-six. Then, Jenkins incredulously got behind the A&M coverage for 31-yard gain.
Finally, Jenkins beat cornerback Jaylon Jones down the A&M sideline for the touchdown.
The Aggies were grossly outplayed throughout the first half. Still, they trailed just 10-3 when Calzada connected with Moose Muhammad on a 13-yard touchdown pass with 4:31 remaining in the half.
Later, A&M regained the football at its own 21-yard line with 1:57 remaining in the half. Perhaps the Aggies would take a conservative approach, run out the clock and count their blessings to be down by just three points.
True to his nature, Fisher chose to attack.
A first down pass to Smith picked up a yard. On second down Calzada was sacked.
Timeout LSU.
Third down was a 1-yard Achane run. Time out LSU. A&M’s series consumed less than a minute.
LSU took possession at its 39-yard line with 1:06 remaining.
Two plays later, Trey Palmer caught a screen pass, ran through tackle attempts by Antonio Johnson, Aaron Hansford and Jardin Gilbert for 61-yard touchdown and a 17-7 just 32 seconds before intermission.
Obviously, that loomed large.
Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Calzada made several big, tough plays, including the would-be game-winner, but the Aggies couldn’t hold on.
A&M dominated most of the second half. The Aggies out-gained LSU 178-84 until the Tigers’ final drive.
The pass rush kept Johnson under constant attack and LSU’s running game managed just 36 yards in the second half.
Meanwhile, Calzada, once so maligned, made clutch throws to Preston, who previously had not caught a touchdown pass this season.
“I thought he battled,” Fisher said. “I thought he competed and made plays and scrambled and made some big-time throws to help us. I thought he battled hard and had some great plays and put us in a position to win the game.”
It wasn’t enough to overcome the slow start, clock management, poor coverage, dropped passes and sluggish running game.
If those issues are corrected in future seasons, the Aggies may one day raise the crystal ball that's awarded to the national champion.
If not, the prophetic spheroid will be the only crystal ball raised by the Aggies under Fisher.
