Jayden Daniels Leads LSU to 42-30 Victory Over Texas A&M

LSU QB Jayden Daniels/Image Credit: Gus Stark, Director of Football Photography at LSU, via lsusports.net

On Saturday, the Texas A&M Aggies rolled into Tiger Stadium (aka Death Valley) with the #1 defense in the SEC to battle Jayden Daniels and the #13 LSU Tigers. One of the most iconic edifices in the history of gridiron venues, the nearly century-old Tiger Stadium has been unkind to the Aggies since they joined the SEC in 2012. Texas A&M was 0-5 vs the Tigers on the road heading into the final regular-season game for both teams.

And when the final horn sounded, the Aggies were 0-6.

The LSU Offense was stuck in Neutral in the 1st half

But it was not pretty in the first half for the Tiger offense, #1 in the country in total offense at 562 yards per game. The Aggies kept Daniels and that high-octane offense on the bench with ball-control play calling by OC Bobby Petrino and a stiff defense.

LSU was held to just 23 plays in the first half, their lowest total in two years. The Tigers gained just eight first downs and 123 yards of total offense. As a result, Texas A&M carried a 17-14 lead into the locker room at halftime. Bonus, the Aggies were to receive the 2nd half kickoff.

Texas A&M took their first possession of the 3rd quarter, drove down the field, and scored on the Swiss cheese-like LSU defense to take a 24-14 lead.

Jayden Daniels Takes Over the Game

On the ensuing LSU possession, Daniels took over and on 4th down with four yards to go, Daniels reeled off a 49-yard run to put the Tigers in a 1st and-goal situation. Two plays later, Josh Williams ran for the touchdown to cut the Aggies lead to 24-21.

On the next Texas A&M possession, the Aggies went on a 13-play drive to get deep in LSU territory. But the Tiger defense got a sack by LB Harold Perkins to force a field goal attempt on 4th down and 12. The kick was no good and the Tigers took over, but could not move the ball and punted the ball back to Texas A&M.

The LSU defense stiffened and was able to force a turnover on an INT by LB Greg Penn III. On the ensuing LSU Possession, Daniels quickly found WR Brian Thomas, Jr. for a 23-yard touchdown strike and LSU’s first lead of the game at 28-24. It was Thomas’s 15th touchdown reception of the season.

Texas A&M was forced to punt on their next possession, and Daniels went to work again. Daniels found WR Malik Nabers for a 21-yard score to increase their lead to 35-24. It was Nabers's second TD of the game. In addition, Nabers set the school record for career receptions with 184.

On the kickoff, LSU was called for a personal foul facemask that tacked on 15 yards to give the Aggies great field position. Three plays later. Texas A&M QB Jaylen Henderson found Max Wright, a converted DE, for a 51-yard scoring toss to cut the Tigers’ lead to 35-30. A 2-point conversion attempt failed and the score remained 35-30.

Daniels was not finished, as he found WR Kyren Lacy in the end zone for his third touchdown pass of the game to put the Tigers up for good at 42-30, and that was the final score.

Jayden Daniels was held 62 yards under his season average for a total offense of 417 yards per game. Daniels passed for 235 yards, rushed for 120 yards (355 total yards), and threw four touchdown passes.

A Heisman Statement by Jayden Daniels? Absolutely

He is the 5th player in SEC history to record 50 touchdowns responsible for in a single season. Daniels’s total offense yardage for the regular season stands at 4,496.

Did Daniels do enough in this game to win the Heisman Trophy? Daniels led his team to a come-from-behind victory, with three, 4th quarter touchdown passes, against a defense ranked #1 in the SEC. So, yeah he did! Jayden Daniels deserves a seat in the front row at the Heisman ceremony in New York while he waits for his name to be called to hoist the most coveted award in college football.

LSU improved to 9-3 (6-2 in the SEC) and ended the regular season on a three-game winning streak. Texas A&M falls to 7-5 as both teams await their bowling destinations.