October 25, 2025: NCAA football game action between the Texas A&M Aggies and the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA. Michael Bacigalupi
By Hunt Palmer
As the Golden Band From Tigerland played the four notes that elicit one of the iconic roars in American sports, the only sound LSU fans made were their shoes pattering the concrete stairs on the way to the exits after the third quarter.
Garth Brooks then bellowed through the speakers. The lone response came from the Aggie fans littering the east side of the stadium.
Texas A&M imposed its will on LSU in the second half, and the Tigers buckled in every phase of the game. The result was 35-7 thrashing after intermission and a 49-25 final. Added to last year’s collapse, the Aggies have outscored LSU 66-13 in consecutive second halves.
The offense, which found some rhythm on the ground in the first half, ran the ball all of three times in the third quarter. And that third quarter was a doozy. Texas A&M scored two touchdowns on the Tiger defense, and LSU’s special teams allowed a punt return touchdown to flip an 18-14 LSU lead into a 35-18 rout over 15 minutes of play. LSU countered A&M’s 21 points with 14…yards.
Texas A&M added another touchdown two plays into the fourth quarter.
Ballgame.
Season.
Program?
LSU will continue to work this fall. They’ll review film and get treatment on Sunday. They’ll practice this week before the bye. But every goal this team set out to accomplish is now gone.
The program was pointed to this season, and it has failed.
The offense has been clunky all season. The defense that looked like a championship level group has been exposed as a bully to bad offenses. Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M have averaged 435 yards and 32 points on this group. Pushing around South Carolina’s 128th ranked offense or Florida’s 94th ranked group isn’t anything to boast about. When confronted with good offenses, LSU’s defense has been run ragged more often than it’s stiffened.
Special teams missed an extra point, gave up a punt return touchdown, lined up incorrectly on another punt and held on a kickoff return that forced LSU to start inside its own 10.
A team that was supposed to compete for championships has no discernible strength.
This is the type of loss that can fracture a group of mercenaries. The fan base is lost at this point. That’s beyond deniability. If the locker room follows, it could get ugly.
The cream is rising to the top of the SEC. Texas A&M certainly qualifies. Alabama, Ole Miss, Georgia, Vanderbilt and Tennessee have eyes on the playoff, as well.
LSU, once again, is nowhere near the discussion.
Kelly was asked about his future with the program after the game and deflected as he can and should. Those questions are now fair four seasons in.
The program lacks an identity.
The defense has not been fixed, and the offense is a mess. The offensive line is a problem, and the special teams have made gaffes. LSU is not a physical team on either side of the ball. For two seasons, the offense has lacked explosive plays. Running quarterbacks gallop freely week after week.
In three of the four Kelly seasons, the Tigers have been beaten by at least 24 points in a home game.
Finding positives would be like searching for a Tiger fan in Death Valley during Saturday night’s fourth quarter. There might have been a couple, but it’s not worth the effort.
That image of A&M’s fans whooping and swaying in the south endzone will linger for some time in Baton Rouge.
You wonder what else will. Or won’t.
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