By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
BATON ROUGE – LSU head coach Brian Kelly’s definition of `consistency’ has interlocking meanings.
“Look at the teams around college football, everybody’s looking for how can they be consistent,” Kelly said after his weekly in-season Monday conference previewing Saturday’s 6:30 p.m. showdown in College Station between No. 7 LSU (6-1 overall, 3-0 SEC) and No. 14 Texas A&M (6-1, 4-0 SEC), the only SEC teams yet to suffer a loss in league play.
“How can they be the same team week in and week out? For us, it’s about our preparation, the consistent application of what we do and how we do it, and then turning that over to performance.
“Winning, for me, is about how you can get to a level of consistency at all phases. Consistency is about balance and being good in running the ball, throwing the ball, stopping the run, being efficient in terms of pass defense.”
LSU has reached another definition of consistency the last two weeks in wins of 29-26 at home over Ole Miss on Oct. 22 and 34-10 at Arkansas last Saturday.
It’s the ability to endure stretches of games in which one side of the ball struggles and needs the other side to keep it afloat.
The very nature of the Tigers’ 2024 offense – more ball-control drives eating yardage and time – gives more rest to the defense. That unit has taken a huge leap of improvement after the open date three weeks ago when Kelly solidified his rotation, especially finally pairing Whit Weeks and Greg Penn II as starting linebackers.
LSU’s defense has created 11 turnovers this season, including 8 in the three conference wins.
Offensively, the Tigers are getting tougher to deal with weekly. LSU is averaging a league-leading 33 points per game in SEC play.
The one thing that has been evident all season is quarterback Garrett Nussmeier’s ability to spread his passes around to so many receivers and the discovery of true freshman running back Caden Durham.
Nussmeier has thrown for 2,222 yards and leads the SEC in TD passes (18) and completions (186). Yet the Tigers have no players ranked in the SEC’s top 10 in TD catches yet have three players ranked in receptions per game.
It’s because Nussmeier completes passes to an average of eight receivers per game and has thrown TDs to eight different receivers.
“You can see that the distribution of where the ball goes it’s much more difficult to defend because you don’t know where the ball is going,” Kelly said. “We’re able to move the ball all over the field, and it makes it much more difficult for defenses to roll coverages and isolate particular players.”
Durham’s emergence in the 36-33 win at South Carolina on Sept. 14 when he ran for 98 yards and two TDs and 11 carries has given Kelly his first legitimate playmaking running back in his three seasons at LSU.
“I’m really impressed with a freshman running back that is not playing at 100 percent,” said Kelly of Durham playing despite some nagging in injuries.
“A lot of guys would not be in the game he’s playing, because he’s playing at about 80 to 85 percent. Injuries are hard to deal with at any position, but when you’re running back and you’ve got an injury and you’re still fighting through it, it says a lot about the young man.”
KNOW YOUR ENEMY
No. 7 LSU (6-1 overall, 3-0 SEC) vs. No. 14 Texas A&M (6-1, 4-0 SEC), Kyle Field, College Station, Saturday, 6:30 p.m. (ABC)
Last game for Aggies: Won 34-24 at Mississippi State last Saturday. QB Connor Weigman threw for 217 yards and a TD.
Series record and last meeting: LSU leads 36-23-3. In his last game as a Tiger, QB Jayden Daniels rallied his team from a 24-14 third-quarter deficit to a 42-30 win over the Aggies in Baton Rouge.
Texas A&M head coach: Mike Elko (22-10 in three seasons overall, 6-1 in first season at Texas A&M).
THIS AND THAT
Early betting line: Texas A&M by 2½
Number of Louisiana natives on Texas A&M roster: 3
Number of Texas natives on LSU roster: 12
Number of transfers on Texas A&M roster from 4-year schools: 33 players from 30 schools including 15 players from 13 Power 4 Conference schools.
TEXAS A&M PLAYERS TO WATCH
QB Connor Weigman (56 of 91 for 718 passing yards, 3 TDs, 4 interceptions), RB Le’veon Moss (674 rushing yards, 8 TDs on 105 carries), DE Nic Scourton (19 tackles, 11 TFL, 4½ sacks, 2 PBU, 4 QB hurries), S Marcus Ratcliffe (24 tackles, 2 TFL, 3 interceptions, PK Randy Bond (13 of 15 field goals, 25 of 25 PATs), P Tyler White (21 for 45.76 ypp, 3 touchbacks, 13 fair catches, 13 inside the 20, 6 50 yards or more).
THREE AND OUT
1. What is the most nonsensical phrase in the Aggie War Hymn?
A. Chiggarroogarem
B. Hullabaloo, Caneck! Caneck!
C. Rough tough! Real stuff! Texas A&M!
D. All of the above
2. Where is the final resting place after they die of the Reveilles, the collies that serve as A&M’s mascot?
A. Buried north entrance to Kyle Field (the football stadium) facing the scoreboard so that they can always watch the Aggies outscore their opponent.
B. Cremated with their ashes sprinkled over A&M’s game uniforms for positive energy.
C. Preserved by taxidermy and mounted over the A&M Kyle Field dressing room exit door for each player to pet for good luck.
D. Kept in refrigerators in A&M’s football recruiting lounge.
3. In the 88-year history of the Associated Press poll, how many times has Texas A&M finished the season ranked in the top 5?
A. 10
B. 4
C. 15
D. 25
ANSWERS: 1. D 2. A 3. B
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com