LSU Tigers 54, Texas A&M Aggies 39
Here are the top-graded players and biggest storylines from LSU’s 54-39 win over Texas A&M.
LSU Tigers
Quarterback grade: Danny Etling, 69.8
Etling makes more good throws than bad ones in blowout victory
Etling has had an up-and-down year throwing the football, but he’s been on the up side lately, including this game. There were still some badly missed throws that he should be able to make, but less so than in the past. He was very successful looking deep downfield on Thursday night. On passes more than 20 yards downfield Etling completed four-of-six for 125 yards and a touchdown. He was nearly perfect when kept clean, going 18-of-23 for 261 yards and both touchdowns.
Top offensive grades:
HB Derrius Grice, 85.6
WR Russell Gage, 75.4
WR Malachi Dupre, 75.0
WR D.J. Clark, 74.9
G Josh Boutte, 74.5
Derrius Grice runs wild on Aggies defense, who forget to tackle him
Fournette who? LSU’s run game hasn’t missed a beat with him not playing thanks to the incredible play of Derrius Grice. Last night he averaged 7.8 yards per carry on his way to 281 yards and four touchdowns. But it was the incredible 16 missed tackles forced that was the most impressive. Over the past three games Guice has an elusive rating of 161.9, which ranks fifth in the country, though he’s done that with 77 touches, while nobody ahead of him has more than 33.
Top defensive grades:
ED Tashawn Bower, 85.8
DI Davon Godchaux, 83.8
LB Devin White, 79.0
CB Tre’Davious White, 78.7
LB Donnie Alexander, 74.9
Defense has little problem slowing down Aggies offense in rout
There were a few players that really lead the Tigers defense to their success on Thursday night. Tashawn Bower was the leader, as he had both a run defense and a pass rush grade above 80.0. He finished with two solo run stops, on top of three quarterback hits and four hurries. Corner Tre-Davious White was also impressive in coverage. He saw seven targets and allowed just three catches for 64 yards, and had three pass breakups. He now has 10 pass breakups for the season.
Texas A&M Aggies
Quarterback grade: Trevor Knight, 62.4
Too many misses and mistakes doom Knight, stall Aggies offense
Knight’s 12-of-29 completion line is a little misleading, as he threw a pass away, had one batted down, and had three dropped. So, 15-of-27 looks a little better, but it still wasn’t a great night for Knight. He was solid when kept clean, but really struggled the nine dropbacks he was under pressure, completing none of his seven attempts and taking two sacks. He did have a couple of nice throws, but a lot of times he was just missing on easy passes.
Top offensive grades:
HB Keith Ford, 78.6
T Jermaine Eluemunor, 77.7
WR Christian Kirk, 77.4
WR Speedy Noil, 76.8
C Erik McCoy, 74.6
Aggies run game proves strong against solid LSU defense
While the passing game didn’t really get going, Texas A&M found success running the football when they chose to. Top back Keith Ford ended up gaining exactly 100 yards on just 15 carries, and forced three missed tackles. Freshman star Trayveon Williams (46.7) gained 68 yards on 10 carries and scored a touchdown. He did have a bad fumble however. Overall the Aggies averaged 7.2 yards per carry, which might’ve been enough if their passing game had been just a little bit better.
Top defensive grades:
LB Otaro Alaka, 84.0
ED Myles Garrett, 82.5
DI Zaycoven Henderson, 80.5
DI Hardreck Walker, 72.0
CB Donovan Wilson, 64.7
Defense can’t tackle, but otherwise played solid game at times
Much of the Aggies front seven played well against the run this game. Otaro Alaka (89.3 run defense grade), star Myles Garrett (87.4), Zaycoven Henderson (85.4) all had run defense grades near elite game levels. The problem was that when they all did their jobs and blew up the run’s intended path, the linebackers and secondary could not make the tackle on Guice. They missed 17 tackles on the day, 16 of them in the run game, and allowed a ridiculous 4.78 yards after contact per play. This has been a problem for the Aggies all year, as they have very good run defense up front but average more than 13 missed tackles per game.
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