Marcel Reed passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more scores, and No. 3 Texas A&M turned a slim halftime deficit into a dominant 49-25 victory over 20th-ranked LSU on Saturday night.
KC Concepcion caught one of Reed’s TD tosses and returned a third-quarter punt 79 yards for another score for the unbeaten Aggies (8-0, 5-0 SEC). They snapped a six-game skid in LSU’s Tiger Stadium, winning there for the first time since 1994.
A&M is off to its best start since the 1992 Aggies went 12-0 in the regular season before losing to Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl.
Reed passed for 202 yards and rushed for 108, highlighted by his 41-yard TD scramble, as he continues to build a case for Heisman Trophy consideration. Reed’s other touchdown pass was a short flip to running back Jamarion Morrow, who covered most of the play’s 24 yards after the catch. Morrow added an 11-yard TD rushing in the fourth quarter.
Garrett Nussmeier, who eschewed the 2025 NFL draft to return to LSU (5-3, 2-3), saw his highly anticipated senior season continue to crumble.
He passed for 168 yards, including a short TD pass to Trey’Dez Green, but the Tigers’ offense could not keep up with Reed and Co. for 60 minutes.
LSU led 18-14 at halftime, thanks in large part to big special teams and defensive plays in the second quarter.
Jhase Thomas blocked an Aggies punt through the end zone for a safety.
A.J. Haulcy’s interception in the end zone set up freshman Harlem Berry’s 7-yard touchdown run that gave LSU a 15-14 lead.
Soon after, linebacker Harold Perkins intercepted a deflected pass near midfield. But LSU stalled in the red zone and settled for Damian Ramos’ field goal for an 18-14 halftime lead.
The Aggies responded with two touchdowns within the first 6:13 of the third quarter — the first on Reed’s 5-yard run on third down. LSU’s next drive lasted three plays before Grant Chadwick’s 60-yard punt gave Concepcion space to elude tacklers along the left sideline before cutting right into the open field and racing away to make it 28-18.
When Nate Boerkircher scored on a 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter, the Aggies led 42-18 — and Death Valley, where a raucous crowd produced ear-ringing volume in the first half, got quiet as fans began filing out.
The takeaway
Texas A&M: Under second-year coach Mike Elko, these Aggies continue to snap unflattering streaks, the Tiger Stadium skid being just the latest. Their 41-40 victory at Notre Dame last month was A&M’s first on the road against a Top 10 team since since 2014. A 45-42 victory at Arkansas on Oct. 18 was the Aggies’ first SEC road win since 2022.
LSU: Coach Brian Kelly’s fourth season with the Tigers has taken a bad turn after it began with his team viewed as a favorite to make the 12-team College Football Playoff. LSU was ranked as high as No. 3 in the AP Top 25 Poll in September before sliding out of the top 10 with a loss at Ole Miss. After consecutive losses to Vanderbilt and A&M, they might not be ranked at all next week.
Up next
Texas A&M: At Missouri on Nov. 8.
LSU: At Alabama on Nov. 8.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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