PALMER: LSU-A&M matchup finally features title aspirations…on both sides

By Hunt Palmer

Twelve years ago, Texas A&M left its biggest rival for greener pastures. And greener wallets.

The Aggies joined the SEC and severed conference ties with Texas that dated back 100 years, spanning the lifetime of the Southwest Conference and the heyday of the Big 12.

When the annual Lone Star State showdown on Thanksgiving Night was no more, A&M was in search of a new rival.

The SEC offered up LSU.

In this column last week, I wrote about the forced nature of the LSU-Arkansas “rivalry”. We’ll call this Chapter 2.

Texas A&M harbors much more resentment toward Texas than LSU. The Tiger fanbase has a longer, more storied history with, well, everyone in the old SEC West.

That said, the last 12 years of the LSU-Texas A&M series have featured indelible moments.

In 2015, Les Miles was carried off the Tiger Stadium field to a cascade of appreciative cheers. It was thought to be his final game in purple and gold. Then 20 minutes later Joe Alleva announced Miles wasn’t going anywhere.

Three years after that, A&M outlasted LSU in seven overtimes to steal one of the wildest games of the last decade. A shoving match broke out involving Jimbo Fisher’s nephew and multiple LSU staffers.

LSU repaid that favor the following year by embarrassing the Aggies, 50-7, on Joe Burreaux’s Senior Night.

Max Johnson ripped A&M’s heart out in 2021 only to quarterback the Aggies in 2022.

The storylines have been plentiful, but championship stakes have been largely missing. LSU had already clinched births in Atlanta in 2019 and 2022 for those regular season finales. A&M still hasn’t made that trip.

Saturday night one team will take a step closer to the divisionless SEC Championship Game and the first ever 12-team playoff.

That makes this the most consequential LSU-A&M battle since the Aggies joined the league.

Both teams stumbled out of the starting gate this year. LSU’s defense fell flat in a fourth quarter loss against USC. A&M’s offense didn’t show up in their season opener against Notre Dame.

Since then, both teams have won twice on the road in SEC play and handled business outside the conference to set up this primetime showdown.

The Aggies feature a pummeling running game and well-coached defense. The Tigers present A&M’s must daunting challenge through the air but will have to deal with a less-than-welcoming Kyle Field crowd.

One team will emerge with eyes on Atlanta. The other will have cut its margin for error to zero entering November.

A&M still awaits arch rival Texas in Kyle Field. Alabama descends on Death Valley in two weeks. Both Both LSU and A&M would like a little wiggle room as they continue to work toward the elite ranks of college football.

To get the job done, LSU will have to do something neither team has done since 2016—win on the road. After the Tigers rattled off six straight to begin this conference series, the home team has dominated.

So much of the good in college football will be on display Saturday night. LSU’s classic uniforms, the Aggie War Hymn, four and five star prospects, highly respected coaches. That’s all been present for LSU and A&M for better than a decade.

This time playoff energy is added to the mix. Rivalry, series, whatever you want to call it.

This one matters.