By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
BATON ROUGE – For one last time this season in Tiger Stadium, the inviting fragrance of another Heisman Trophy-like clutch performance by LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels overcame the stench of the Tigers’ defense doing its best to cement its place as one of the worst in school history.
Daniels, a senior playing the final home game of his two-year LSU career after transferring a year ago from Arizona State, threw for three of his game total four touchdowns in the fourth quarter as he rallied the Tigers from a 10-point deficit to a 42-30 regular-season closing SEC win over Texas A&M on Saturday.
Daniels accounted for 244 of his 355 total offense yards (235 passing, 120 rushing) in the game’s last 26 minutes, flinging final-period scoring strikes of 23 yards to Brian Thomas Jr., 21 yards to Malik Nabers and 15 yards to Kyren Lacy. He also threw a 6-yard TD to Nabers in the second quarter.
“I think I’ve made my case to get invited (as one of the Heisman finalists to the Dec. 9 awards ceremony in New York City),” said Daniels, who finished the 12-game regular season averaging 412.16 total offense yards (317.66 passing, 94.5 rushing) with 50 TDs (40 passing, 10 rushing) and 89 plays of 20 or more yards.
Though it was Daniels’ lowest total output in an SEC game this season for the Tigers (9-3 overall, 6-2 SEC West), LSU had the ball for 24 fewer plays than Texas A&M (76-52 favoring the Aggies) and for 13:18 less in time of possession (a 36:39 to 23:21 edge to A&M).
Until the Tigers’ defense was able to finally get the Aggies’ offense off the field without points on four of its last five possessions, the Aggies (7-5 overall, 4-4 SEC West) had LSU on the ropes by making good on their first 6 of 7 third-down conversions.
“We couldn’t stop them, we couldn’t get them off the field in the first half,” LSU head coach Brian Kelly said.
Texas A&M sophomore QB Jaylen Henderson, a Fresno State transfer starting just his third college game after spending most of the season as the Aggies’ No. 3 QB, engineered TD drives of 67, 78, 75 and 64 yards that ate massive amounts of clock.
“Our job was to sustain drives,” said A&M’s Elijah Robinson, named interim coach two weeks ago after six-year Aggies’ coach Jimbo Fisher was fired.
“Our offense did a good job with that.” So well, in fact, that A&M edged LSU, college football’s No. 1 offense, 390 to 389 in total offense yards, with Henderson throwing for 294 yards and two TDs.
But in the LSU comeback, which started with Daniels’ fourth-and-four 47-yard scramble to the A&M 4 that set up running back Josh Williams 1-yard TD plunge to cut the Aggies’ lead to 24-21 with 7:51 left in the third quarter, the Tigers changed their defense.
“Coach (defensive coordinator Matt) House started using Harold Perkins as a spy (on A&M quarterback Henderson),” said LSU linebacker Greg Penn III, whose fourth-quarter interception paved the way for the Tigers’ go-ahead score on a Daniels TD throw to Thomas for a 28-24 lead with 11:52 left in the game.
When Perkins started spying Henderson, the Aggies’ left-hander couldn’t scramble for third-down conversions and was hemmed in the pocket. The Tigers were able to record four sacks, including two by defensive end Ovie Oghoufo. Perkins finished with a team-high 9 tackles along with safety Andre Sam.
“They (LSU) changed some things up in the second half and there were some plays I wish I had back,” Henderson said. “I tip my hat to them. They played a great second half on defense.”
When that happened, the Tigers’ offense found its rhythm. Nabers and Thomas LSU’s 1,000-yard receivers who had been held to a combined 4 catches for 36 yards through 2½ quarters, came alive.
Nabers, college football’s receiving yardage leader, finished with 6 catches for 122 yards and 2 TDs. Thomas, the national leader in receiving TDs, ended with 5 catches for 58 yards and 1 TD.
“They (A&M’s offense) were chewing up the clock, so it caused us to start out a little bit slow,” said Nabers, who became LSU’s career leader in receptions on the Tigers’ final TD drive. “When we got back in the locker room at halftime, our coaches got us way amped up.
“It’s our last game in Tiger Stadium. They wanted to know why were we so quiet. We should be playing with a chip on our shoulder. We had to come in the second half and prove that we’re the best offense in college football.”
Once more, Daniels, Nabers, Thomas Jr. and company did so in the third win this season (the others were 34-31 over Arkansas, 49-39 at Missouri) in which the Tigers’ offense had to find another gear to steal the win.
Because of it, LSU will likely end up in a Florida-based bowl such as the ReliaQuest in Tampa on Jan. 1 instead of a lower-tier bowl. Bowl bids will be announced next Sunday (Dec. 3) after the College Football Playoff committee reveals its four teams contending for the national championship.
Nabers will likely be among the three finalists announced Tuesday for the Biletnikoff Award which goes to college football’s best receiver.
Daniels is a virtual lock to be one of three Heisman finalists announced a week from Monday (Dec. 4). He’ll join QBs Bo Nix of Oregon and Michael Penix Jr. of Washington, who have the advantage of playing each other in the Pac 12 title game next Friday before Heisman voting closes just before the finalists are announced.
“This (A&M) is a top 10 defense in the country,” Kelly said, “and he (Daniels) threw four touchdown passes and put up 42 points. And to obviously run the way he did, I just think he strengthened his case for the Heisman.”
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com