Lane Kiffin had a choice to make early in the third quarter.
His team led by 11. It was fourth-and-1 at the LSU 43.
Most coaches punt there. Kiffin didn’t.
Sam Leavitt faked a handoff and looked deep. Jackson Harris was all alone behind the Texas A&M secondary. He strolled in for a 57-yard score.
That made it 21-3. The rest of Saturday night felt like a formality as LSU beat No. 23 Texas A&M 35-6 in Tiger Stadium.
The win moves the Tigers to 3-1. They’re now 1-1 in SEC play.
Kiffin sounded like a happy man afterward. “Quality win for our team,” he said. “Two SEC teams that were ranked in the top 25 and we win 35-6 while really dominating the numbers, 500 to 197. That’s a product of doing things right and that makes me feel good as a coach.” Those words came in his postgame remarks.
Harris and Leavitt found a rhythm
He did throw one pick. An A&M defender got a hand on the throw, and Marcus Ratcliffe came down with it in the third quarter. Nobody’s perfect. Well, Harris was close.
His first score came late in the second quarter. Leavitt hit him from 16 yards out on second-and-7. That pushed the lead to 14-3 with 1:59 left before the break.
By the time his second TD landed, Harris already had 118 yards. He’d needed just four grabs to get there.
Winston Watkins Jr. chipped in too. He caught five passes for 107 yards. That included gains of 35 and 36 yards on the drive before halftime.
Leavitt turned in the best game of his LSU career. He completed 17 of 23 throws for 312 yards and two scores. He also ran for 22 yards.
He did throw one pick. A tipped ball at the line landed with A&M’s Marcus Ratcliffe in the third quarter. Nobody’s perfect. Well, Harris was close.
The Tigers ran for 194 yards. They picked up more than 5 yards every time they handed it off.
The defense did the heavy lifting
Marcel Reed had a rough night. The Aggies’ quarterback threw for just 106 yards and finished with minus 13 rushing yards.
Yes, minus. He’d have been better off kneeling.
A&M’s best drive came in the second quarter. The Aggies went 62 yards in 15 plays and burned 8:08 off the clock. They got to the LSU 6 and settled for a 26-yard David Olano field goal.
Olano later hit from 53 yards. That was the last time A&M scored.
Ty Benefield and TJ Dottery each made seven tackles. Deuce Geralds added four stops. Two came behind the line, and one was a sack.
Princewill Umanmielen got to Reed too. No player in the country has more sacks than his seven.
Tamarcus Cooley opened the second half by dropping Reed 11 yards behind the line. The safety later picked off Reed in the fourth quarter.
Davhon Keys and the defense stuffed A&M on fourth down at the Aggies’ 34. The Tigers took over right there.
Clark and Jones finish the job
Landon Clark cashed in that stop. He scored from 4 yards out to make it 28-3.
Then he punched in a 2-yard run in the final minute of the third quarter. That made it 35-6. Nobody scored again.
Dilin Jones got the Tigers rolling early. His 36-yard run set up his own 1-yard touchdown in the first quarter. That capped an 82-yard drive that took eight plays.
IIt’s worth remembering this one didn’t look like a blowout early. LSU’s first drive was a quick three-and-out. After one quarter, Leavitt had just 36 passing yards.
Things picked up from there. A lot.
The Tigers get a breather next. They host McNeese on Oct. 3. The ball kicks off at 6:45 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
