Inside the Numbers: LSU's offense has a chance to wake up vs. Texas A&M
LSU is coming off one of its worst efforts in years, a 17-0 shutout loss to Arkansas in Week 12. The Tigers will get a chance to redeem themselves on Thanksgiving when they square off with Texas A&M in the regular season finale for both teams.
Here’s a look at some of the statistics that will come into play on Thursday.
THE GOOD
- 5.8. Texas A&M’s defense is awful in all phases, and it’s particularly bad against the run. In seven SEC games, the Aggies are allowing a whopping 5.8 yards per carry. That’s good news for an LSU rushing attack that was slowed in the game against Arkansas.
- 61.2. LSU’s moribund passing attack might get a boost against the Aggies. Many SEC opponents haven’t had to throw a ton against Texas A&M, but they’ve all done it with success. A&M is allowing a 61.2 percent completion rate in SEC play, and no team has been worse than 50 percent (a benchmark LSU has struggled to hit all season).
- 13. The Aggies have tossed 13 interceptions this season, five of which came from current starter Kyle Allen, a total that ranks them next-to-last in the SEC. LSU is toward the bottom of the conference in picks, but the secondary is opportunistic and the pass rush should get home to give them chances.
THE BAD
- 22. The book on A&M says that the offensive line has been a sieve and that pressure will disrupt the offense. While both are true, the Aggies somehow have only allowed 22 sacks this season, the same number as LSU despite throwing more than 200 more passes than the Tigers.
- 44.4. Texas A&M has one of the best special teams weapons in the country: punter Drew Kaser. He’s third in the SEC in punting average at 44.4 yards per punt, while Texas A&M’s coverage team allows just one return per game.
- 29. LSU’s passing defense is the stingiest in the SEC, but they’ll be tested against the Aggies. While Texas A&M is a fairly quick-strike attack, they still have the second-highest total of 30-plus yard passes in the SEC with 29.