In a tale of two halves on Saturday night in College Station, No. 8 LSU dropped a Week 9 SEC showdown to Texas A&M 38-23 in a battle for the top of the Southeastern Conference.

Missed opportunities on offense and special teams, along with the switch to dual-threat quarterback Marcel Reed, were the difference in No. 14 Texas A&M handing No. 8 LSU its second loss of the season on Saturday night in College Station, 38- 23 .

Redshirt sophomore receiver Aaron Anderson led the team in receiving with 126 yards and a touchdown on three catches. Junior receiver Kyren Lacy had an impressive performance with 106 yards on five catches.

LSU has a bye week next Saturday before returning to Tiger Stadium on Nov. 9 to host No. 15 Alabama. Kickoff, which has not yet been announced by the league office, is expected to take place between 2:30 PM and 7:00 PM CT.

A look at three observations from Saturday night in College Station.

Tale of two halves: Tumble the Tigers turnover

LSU entered the Week 9 showdown shot out of a cannon after playing supplemental football at Kyle Field under the direction of signal caller Garrett Nussmeier.

The redshirt junior quarterback sliced ​​the Aggies’ defense through the first two quarters after recording more than 250 yards and a pair of touchdowns, propelling LSU to a 17-7 lead at halftime, but things changed in the third quarter a flip.

Texas A&M made the halftime adjustments needed to keep Nussmeier and Co. on Saturday night. contain, with the signal caller throwing a pair of interceptions in the third quarter.

The implosion started after the first pick was thrown and LSU couldn’t stop the bleeding from there in College Station.

Nussmeier then threw a second interception in the third frame, before his third in the final quarter of the game.

Three turnovers turned into 17 points for the Aggies, and Nussmeier took the blame for the interceptions, but the inability to adjust defensively plagued LSU late.

Mike Elko’s Critical Call: Insert QB Marcel Reed

Texas A&M signal caller Conner Weigman earned the start Saturday night in College Station as the youngster struggled out of the gate against LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker’s unit.

After a terrible first half in which Weigman went 6-for-18 through the air with just 64 yards, the Texas A&M head coach turned to true freshman quarterback Marcel Reed to shake things up.

For Elko and Co. the decision paid off, with Reed turning the game around for the Aggies in an instant.

LSU’s defense simply had no answer for the dual-threat quarterback. Reed torched the Tigers with his legs in the third quarter, and just when LSU thought they had him figured out, he launched a 54-yard pass to Noah Thomas to change the trajectory in the fourth quarter.

Reed’s ability to tuck it in and run on the zone read propelled the Bayou Bengals into the final 30 minutes of Saturday night’s Week 9 battle.

After all week of game planning for Weigman, the immediate change of putting Reed in the game was the decision that ultimately put the Aggies over the top.

Reed finished the day with 70 passing yards on just two attempts, while recording 62 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

Garrett Nussmeier’s game to forget

In a game where all eyes would be on LSU signal caller Garrett Nussmeier to further increase his 2025 NFL Draft stock and catapult the Tigers into the No. 1 spot in the SEC, it quickly became a night to forget .

After a first half in which Nussmeier completed 14 of his 26 passing attempts for 259 yards and two touchdowns, it was a tale of two halves.

The final 30 minutes were awful for the redshirt junior quarterback after he threw two interceptions in the third quarter, where the Aggies quickly capitalized for a pair of touchdowns.

LSU went into halftime with a “comfortable” 17-7 lead, with all the momentum swinging their way, but once the turnovers started piling up, Texas A&M took it and ran away.

Fast forward to the fourth quarter and Nussmeier threw his third interception of the game to put the nail in the coffin. The implosion started with an interception in the third quarter and ended with another interception in the fourth.

Saturday night quickly became one for LSU’s QB1 to put in the rearview mirror and forget after three picks sealed the deal in College Station.

Nussmeier finished the day 25-for-50 with 405 passing yards, a pair of passing touchdowns and three interceptions.

The one-two punch of Kyren Lacy and Aaron Anderson quickly emerged as crucial pieces for this offense, with Lacy hauling in five receptions for 106 yards. Anderson had three receptions for 126 yards and a score.

Immediate takeaways: No. 8 LSU falls to No. 14 Texas A&M in College Station

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