Balanced Aggie offense will test Tiger D

By Hunt Palmer

Everything changed when Marcel Reed entered last season’s game between LSU and Texas A&M.

The Tigers had a 10-point lead and had controlled the early action. Then Reed entered the game with just more than eight minutes to play in the third quarter. He darted into the end zone with his first snap, and the avalanche began. Reed scored seven minutes later to give the Aggies a lead that ballooned to 12 and then 15 as part of a 31-6 second half onslaught that sealed the A&M victory.

LSU’s defense remembers.

“I remember in the second half it felt like we got too complacent,” said sophomore defensive tackle Ahmad Breaux. “I feel like we weren’t trusting our eyes. We were trying to do someone else’s job and not do our job. I feel like this year it will be a flipped script. We’ll be more prepared this time, more trustworthy of ourselves and more confident.”

The Tigers will have to be. Allowing more than 23 points this year has resulted in a pair of losses. The Aggies have averaged 31.5 in four SEC wins to climb to third in the polls.

Reed has elevated his game from a backup used as a change of pace to a candidate for SEC Offensive Player of the Year. The sophomore signal caller ranks fourth in the SEC in total offense and has accounted for 18 total touchdowns.

At Notre Dame, he threw for 360 yards and a pair of scores in a shootout win. He’s got a rushing touchdown in each of his last three games.

He’s not doing it alone.

Transfer receivers KC Concepcion (NC State) and Mario Craver (Mississippi State) have helped electrify the Aggie offense. Craver is sixth in the country in receiving yards per game and averages 18 yards per touch. Concepcion has 500 receiving yards and 177 punt return yards including a touchdown.

LSU safety and fellow NC State transfer Tamarcus Cooley knows Concepcion well, calling him “my best friend” earlier in the week. Asked if he had an idea about Concepcion’s tendencies, Cooley smirked.

“I do,” he said. “It’s just like every other receiver. Just guard him. Stay in front of him. We’ve got Mansoor Delane.”

Through almost two months, Delane has emerged as one of the top cover men in college football. He’ll undoubtedly see time across the line of scrimmage from both Aggie standouts.

Last week in Nashville, it wasn’t the passing game that hurt LSU. Same thing in College Station last October when Reed only completed two passes during A&M’s furious second half rally. It’s the line of scrimmage and the quarterback improvisation that has stung the Tigers.

“Yeah, we can definitely, learn from that situation,” Breaux said. “It’s good that we faced (Deigo) Pavia, and now we face Marcel Reed. It definitely helps. You can learn from stuff like that. It’s just technical mistakes, small mistakes that are fixable. We’ll be able to fix them this week. That’s really what we watched on the film. It’s like, dang, it’s almost there. That’s what really made the difference in that game.”

LSU hopes to have Jimari Butler back at defensive end and Bernard Gooden back at tackle. Those two veterans helped LSU muzzle some early-season opponents.

Reed and the Aggies pose a significant threat that the Tigers feel they’re preparing for.

“Nothing changes,” Breaux said. “We’ve got to be physical, and we’ve got to be violent. We’ve got to play with an energy and a motor like we always do, flying around the field. That’s the key to everything. That’s the key to beating everybody.”