After a difficult week, Texas A&M is seeking comfort.
But the Aggies will be looking for it in a place more known for pain and unease.
No. 23 A&M (2-1, 0-1) dropped from No. 9 in the college football polls following a stunning 31-21 loss to Kentucky. All week, the Aggies have been questioned, scrutinized and criticized on a national scale.
They aim to redeem themselves on Saturday against No. 10 LSU (2-1, 0-1) at 6:30 p.m. CT in the stadium known as Death Valley.
That’s not typically the stadium where redemption is found, especially for a team in limbo and making its first road trip of the season.
But perhaps the Aggies can find some reassurance from having won three of the last four vs. LSU. Last year, the Aggies slapped the Tigers, 49-25, for their first victory in Baton Rouge since 1994.
“I’m sure there’d be a lot of easier venues I would probably choose to do that in,” A&M coach Mike Elko said earlier this week. “I think you draw from a little bit of confidence we’ve had over the two years of being able to win some games on the road in some of these hostile environments.
“But certainly it’s going to be an extreme challenge for us.”
The challenge could be met if the Aggies can get comfortable. Particularly, they need to find comfort in the secondary and for quarterback Marcel Reed.
The secondary has to find solutions for coverage problems that arose vs. Kentucky. The Aggies too often left receivers wide open en route to allowing 252 passing yards and two touchdowns.
“We just never got comfortable with what we were trying to do,” Elko said.
LSU could cause similar discomfort even without star tight end Trey’Dez Green, who is sidelined with a “lower body” injury.
But receivers Winston Watkins Jr. and Eugene Wilson III are very big-play receivers for quarterback Sam Leavitt, who is fifth among SEC quarterbacks with 732 passing yards.
However, Leavitt’s running ability makes him an even greater threat. He’s rushed for 198 yards and has scored twice as many touchdowns running (six) than passing (three).
“He’s a fast kid. He’s escapable, but he will throw his body around,” Elko said. “He doesn’t back down from contact at all. He’s just a supremely competitive kid.”
Reed is similar as a running threat, but he hasn’t been as quick to run.
Much of that is by design. Elko has expressed concerns about putting the 185-pound Reed at risk of injury.
“He’s not a guy who you design a lot of quarterback runs like you’ve seen from some of the 225-, 230-pound quarterbacks over the years,” he said. “He’s the guy that gets to the edge and gets around and gets loose, and some teams allow him that opportunity, and some teams take that away from him.”
Yet, he’s only rushed for 117 yards. Most of those came in the fourth quarter vs. Kentucky when the Aggies were trying to rally from a two-touchdown deficit. He scrambled for 40- and 28-yard gains.
Reed is also struggling as a passer. He’s completing fewer than 60 percent of his attempts and has three interceptions in the last two games.
“I’ve just got to get back to being myself, and I’ve got to get back to having fun,” Reed said. “I can’t let anybody or anything take me away from that. Football has always been fun for me.
"I’ve got to get back to that — playing free, being loose, going out there having no care in the world. Just going out there and playing.”
Reed has a history of spectacular running plays vs. LSU.
Two seasons ago, he came off the sidelines in the third quarter to rush for 68 yards and three touchdowns. He led the Aggies to a come-from-behind 38-23 victory.
In the victory last season, he scrambled for touchdowns of 41 and five yards, totaling 108 rushing yards.
He figures to try for a repeat performance.
Maybe concerned Aggies can find comfort in that.
