Desperation will be in the air on Saturday night in Baton Rouge as No. 10 LSU hosts No. 23 Texas A&M with both teams skating on thin ice before the end of September. Both lost their SEC openers as favorites in Week 3, making this close to a must-win for a pair of squads with College Football Playoff aspirations. LSU will be playing its SEC home opener under first-year coach Lane Kiffin after falling 32-24 at Ole Miss last week in an emotionally charged environment.
Texas A&M's loss came in more stunning fashion as the Aggies fell 31-21 at home as a 16.5-point favorite against an upstart Kentucky program. The list of issues to correct for both programs is long. In both cases, erratic quarterback play is among them.
The Tigers' passing game looks disjointed even after Kiffin signed the No. 1-ranked quarterback of the portal cycle in Sam Leavitt from Arizona State. Texas A&M's Marcel Reed -- now in Year 3 as the Aggies' starter -- is coming off a dreadful performance against Kentucky. Trying to get right in a night game at Tiger Stadium will be a challenge for A&M.
LSU is 25-2 in its last 27 night games at home. The Tigers are 6-1 at Tiger Stadium vs. Texas A&M since the Aggies joined the SEC in 2012.
Generating pressure: Texas A&M has blitzed on just 12.7% of opponents' dropbacks, the lowest blitz percentage of any team in the SEC, according to truMedia. LSU is only slightly higher at 15%, but the Tigers have been better at generating pressure with four or fewer pass rushers. LSU has pressured opposing quarterbacks on 43.6% of dropbacks, despite blitzing infrequently.
That could be a problem for the Aggies. Both quarterbacks are mobile enough to evade pressure, but they are prone to mistakes and will have to navigate layered coverages if defenses drop 7+ players into coverage. Perhaps it would be in the best interest of both offenses to lean on the run.
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