Learned, Loved, Loathed: LSU 27, Texas A&M 24

Again, victory was within Texas A&M’s grasp. Again, the Aggies did not make the clutch plays. Again, A&M lost at Tiger Stadium.

The Aggies' 27-24 loss to LSU on Saturday was perhaps more disappointing than their other three defeats this season.

A&M gave up long touchdown passes with 32 seconds remaining in the first half and with 20 seconds remaining in the game. 

That’s how close they were to posting their first win in Baton Rouge since 1994 and securing a bowl trip to Florida.

The Aggies had some great performances. Receiver Jalen Preston caught two touchdown passes from Zach Calzada, defensive end Micheal Clemons was a sack machine and Devon Achane ran well, but not often enough.

There was bad play selection, worse pass coverage and even worse officiating that denied A&M a win-clinching turnover.

As usual, there were lessons learned and some things to love. Unfortunately, there was a lot to loathe.

Learned

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The Aggies now await their bowl destination, which will be announced next weekend. 

The Aggies probably aren’t going to a Florida bowl: A victory over LSU would have pushed A&M to 9-3 and likely would have cemented a berth in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. At the very least, the Aggies would have been bound for the Outback Bowl in Tampa. But the 27-24 loss left the Aggies plunging in the bowl pecking order. Kentucky (9-3) may go to the Citrus. Arkansas (8-4) is a good bet for the Outback. The Gator Bowl is a possibility for the Aggies, but the Music City Bowl in Nashville would seem more realistic.

Devon Achane needs more touches: No disrespect intended for Isaiah Spiller, but Achane was more productive. It was the second straight SEC game — and loss — when coach Jimbo Fisher replaced Achane despite his productivity. Achane rushed for 44 yards and had a 16-yard reception on a drive that led to a touchdown that cut the LSU lead to 20-17 early in the fourth quarter. He did not touch the football again. Achane finished with 49 rushing yards on 12 attempts and 72 receiving yards on five catches. Spiller rushed for 27 yards on 11 attempts and did not catch a pass.

Jalen Preston has big-play ability: Entering the LSU game Preston had just 14 catches for 198 yards and had not scored a touchdown since getting one against Northwestern State in the 2018 season-opener. But he caught a 15-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter. Later, he made a spectacular effort to turn a short pass into a 32-yard touchdown that gave the Aggies a 24-20 lead. Preston had three catches for a career-high 57 receiving yards to go with his two TDs.

Loved

The A&M pass rush produced six sacks: All of them came in the second half. Defensive end Micheal Clemons got four, though he had to share one with Tyree Johnson. DeMarvin Leal and Demani Richardson also posted sacks.

Nik Constantinou: Not often is a punter among the star players, but Constantinou was a factor. He punted for a deceptive 37.9-yard average. Three of his punts pinned LSU inside the 20-yard line. His average was skewed by a 26-yard punt, but it put LSU back at its 16. He had a 35-yarder to the LSU 12. Three of his punts covered more than 50 yards.

Zach Calzada’s tenacity: He’s not nimble, he’s hurt and his passes often lack touch. But Calzada showed he can make plays in crunch time. He stood steadfast under pressure and delivered a perfect pass to Jalen Preston for a 15-yard touchdown. He eluded the rush of B.J. Ojulari and with Soni Fonua bearing down on him and completed another throw that Preston turned into a touchdown for a 24-20 lead. Calzada finished with 242 passing yards and three touchdowns.

Loathed

Officiating: Typically, lamenting officiating is best avoided. But damn… There were a few frustrating calls or non-calls. A flag should’ve been thrown for pass interference against Moose Muhammad in the end zone on a third-quarter drive in which the Aggies settled for a field goal. Of course, that was not nearly as outrageous as officials nullifying a stolen football by Demani Richardson. Richardson was covering a punt when he was able to wrestle the football away from Trey Palmer. Replays confirmed officials blew the play dead well after Richardson had taken possession of the football. Yet, they ruled forward progress had stopped and LSU retained possession. That play with 1:58 remaining would have clinched the victory for A&M.

Play-calling was suspect: Late in the first half, the Aggies would have been well-served to try to drain the clock and go into halftime trailing just 10-7. Instead, the Aggies started a series with two pass plays. The first gained one yard. The second resulted in a sack for an 8-yard loss. LSU eventually regained possession with 1:06 left in the half. The Tigers scored on a long pass with 32 seconds remaining to take a 17-7 lead. Even more egregious, the Aggies led 24-20 and faced third-and-2 at their own 17-yard line with just over two minutes left in the game. Rather than trying to pick up a first down with a run, Calzada looked to pass to Jalen Wydermyer. Calzada was under pressure and Wydermyer didn’t get out to the line of scrimmage. The pass was completed but lost yardage.

Bad pass coverage: As long as LSU quarterback Max Johnson was upright, the Tigers passing game was effective. Though sacked six times, Johnson found holes in the A&M secondary when given time to survey the field. He passed for 306 yards and three touchdowns but was most lethal on the Tigers’ final drive. He completed an 11-yard pass on fourth-and-six. His next three passes were completed for 11, 31 and 11 yards. Then after two incompletions, he hit Jeray Jenkins for a game-winning 28-yard touchdown with 20 seconds remaining.