Chris Landry breaks down Texas A&M's loss to LSU in regular-season finale

Key notes from Chris Landry interview

• Obviously, as they always do, A&M’s defense did an excellent job of adjusting. LSU had some success early, and I thought A&M adjusted defensively. They took over in the second half, but on the final drive, they couldn’t get the pressure they had on previous drives. Max Johnson isn’t overly athletic and needs time to set his feet to make throws accurately. They gave him too much time to get comfortable. The pass rush was dominating the game for A&M, but they couldn’t finish. They didn’t bring enough pressure late.
   
• It is difficult for the defense to consistently carry this team because the offense has been ineffective. They have no rhythm, pace or success in the passing game outside of the Alabama game. They’ve been a very average passing game. It’s quarterback-driven, and there have been dropped balls. It’s the little things that will end up costing you.
   
• That was a game A&M should have won. LSU was down a whole lot of players. It doesn’t matter if you’re the better team because you still have to play like it. I said last week that this game was a lot like A&M’s game with Auburn, and it was. A&M made big plays on defense vs. Auburn, but they were not able to score enough points to put LSU away. It’s a game that will drive you nuts as a coach because you can go through all these different scenarios and see that A&M didn’t control what they needed to. That’s the difference between 10-2 and 8-4. It’s a frustrating thing for the staff and fans, but it’s a lesson that all of the little things matter.
   
• I thought that punt strip was a bad call. When it happened live, I wasn’t sure. It was a fumble, no question. From a coaching standpoint, what you tell your team is that when you don’t take care of business, a bad call can cost you the game. In my opinion, A&M should have been up 14-17 points at that point where that call doesn’t matter. Sure, if it’s called correctly, A&M still wins the game. Officiating needs to be better, and there is a lot of stuff that we can do to make it better. As a coach, you have to focus on what “we” didn’t do rather than what the officials didn’t do. If the call is made correctly, the record is one game better, but the performance and execution are still a serious issue.
   
• This is not an apt comparison as to where the programs are, but Nebraska lost nine one-possession games. They make the most mental mistakes of any team in college football. In Tuscaloosa, they’re saying they dropped two balls against A&M, and A&M played a near-perfect game. In the end, all you can do is control assignment, effort and execution. The result will come from that. You are what your record says you are because you didn’t finish or execute vs. Mississippi State or LSU, two games they should have won.
   
• A&M’s defense was put under a lot of stress this year. They made some mistakes but kept the Aggies in a lot of games. The offense just didn’t do enough.
   
• It depends on who you’re playing on the road, how good they are and what the matchups are. If you’re playing a good team on the road, that’s tough to do. If you’re playing a different style, it’s going to be much more difficult on the road. The real sign of good coaching is adjusting in-game. A&M does an extraordinary job of adjusting during games, but if they come out with something unscouted, A&M struggles against it.
   
• Zach Calzada has a lot of physical gifts, but he doesn’t have enough experience. After Haynes King went down, Calzada was in a tough spot. You never stay the same. Calzada is a tough guy. He’ll compete. He has physical gifts. I expect him to be better two and three years down the road. If you’re going to be an elite program and your starting quarterback goes down, that’s something where you have to have some other options regarding roster management in this day and age. Calzada is not good enough yet, and he may never be. We won’t know unless he gets more work and more reps. A&M needs to make sure they don’t get put in this situation again with an unproven quarterback, but that’s difficult today with the transfer portal.