LSU and Texas A&M, teams looking to bounce back from losses, face off Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.
Kickoff is 6:30 (ABC).
LSU (2-1) fell to Ole Miss 32-24 on the road last week in its SEC opener. Texas A&M (2-1) lost to Kentucky 31-21 at home in its conference opener.
The Tigers are ranked No. 10 in the AP Top 25 and No. 11 in the AFCA Coaches Poll. The Aggies are ranked No. 23 in the AP poll and No. 20 in the coaches poll.
Last year’s LSU-A&M game, played in Week 8, was memorable for a couple of reasons. The Tigers led 18-14 at halftime. The Aggies scored 35 points in the second half and won 49-25.
LSU subsequently fired Head Coach Brian Kelly and eventually hired Lane Kiffin.
The Ole Miss game was an emotional one for the Tigers and Kiffin, the head coach at Ole Miss for six seasons prior to arriving in Baton Rouge.
During his Monday press conference, Kiffin lamented missed opportunities against Ole Miss after rallying from a 24-7 halftime deficit to tie the game.
Kiffin said safety Dashawn Spears suffered a season-ending injury in the game. He also said tight end Trey’Dez Green, who suffered a lower body injury, “didn’t look good.”
Green was ruled out of the game Friday.
Texas A&M will be without wide receiver Terry Bussey, who suffered a season-ending lower body injury against Kentucky.
Kiffin said the Tigers have moved on from Ole Miss.
“When we transitioned to the next opponent, I told them, ‘Hey, we got to go out of here and regroup,’ ” he said. “We got to move on because we can’t let that missed opportunity have to do with us losing another game.”
Last year, Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed passed for 202 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 108 and two.
It’s his running that concerns Kiffin.
“This is a big test,” Kiffin said during his Monday press conference. “We lead the country in rush defense, but that hasn’t been against a ton of quarterback-schemed runs. That’s a different set of challenges. It really takes a lot of discipline.”
In three games this season, Reed has rushed for 117 yards on 24 carries and scored one TD. Rueben Owens II leads the Aggies with 186 yards on 45 carries.
Mario Craver leads the receiving corps with 19 catches for 194 yards and two TDs. Isaiah Horton has 12 catches for 170 yards.
LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt has completed 57-of-93 passes for 732 yards and three touchdowns with five interceptions.
Dilin Jones is the top rusher with 285 yards on 65 carries. Leavitt has 198 on 40.
Winston Watkins Jr. (15 catches, 207 yards) and Green (14-122) are the Tigers’ top receivers.
Texas A&M gave up 408 total yards against Kentucky, including 156 rushing.
During his weekly press conference, Texas A&M Head Coach Mike Elko called it “one of the worst defensive performances” of his career as a head coach.
“I own that,” he said. “That’s on me. That’s nobody else’s responsibility.”