The Early Predictions: LSU Football vs. Texas A&M Aggies in Week 9 SEC Battle

Garrett Nussmeier looks to remain scorching hot at the helm of the LSU offense, take on a challenging Aggies squad on the road.

Courtesy of LSU Football.

In what will be a battle for the No. 1 spot in the Southeastern Conference, Garrett Nussmeier and the LSU Tigers will take on the No. 14 ranked Texas A&M Aggies in College Station on Saturday night.

Nussmeier and Co. continue emerging as one of the top offenses in America with weapons Kyren Lacy and Aaron Anderson handling business in the wide receiver room.

Along with the passing attack clicking on all cylinders, the Bayou Bengals have received significant production from true freshman running back Caden Durham this fall.

Despite battling a foot injury and hovering around the "80-85%" range from a health perspective, the first-year Tiger has unlocked an LSU rushing attack that has opened up offensive coordinator Joe Sloan's playbook.

“We want to be equally efficient,” Kelly said on Monday about diversifying the playbook. “Whether it’s running or throwing as an offense, and then from a defensive standpoint, if you’re one-dimensional — in other words if you can’t stop the run, but you’re great against the pass — you really can never be consistent in anything.

“Trying to find that consistency is really about balance and being good in both phases of running the ball, throwing the ball, stopping the run, being efficient in terms of pass defense. Those are areas that we’ve worked hard. So winning for me is about how you can get to a level of consistency at all phases. And we’re getting better at that. We had some glaring weaknesses in one of those phases or another and we’re shoring those up as we go through this season.”

Now, LSU will hop on a flight to College Station on Friday in preparation for Saturday night's showdown against Texas A&M.

What do the models believe will happen this weekend? What are the current betting lines? Score predictions?

The Current Betting Odds: LSU Tigers vs. Texas A&M Aggies

*(All odds according to DraftKings Sportsbook)*

Spread:
- LSU: (+2.5)
- Texas A&M: (-2.5)

Moneyline:
- LSU: (+114)
- Texas A&M: (-135)

Over/Under: 53.5

The Betting Trends:

- LSU is 3-4 against the spread (42.9%) so far this season.
- Texas A&M is 2-5 (28.6%) against the spread in 2024.
- A&M is 2-8 against the spread in its last 10 games.
- LSU is 12-1 against the spread in its last 13 games against Texas A&M.
- Texas A&M is 1-5 against the spread in its last 6 home games against LSU.
- The total went over in 6 of LSU’s last 7 games on the road.
- The total went over in 6 of Texas A&M’s last 8 games against LSU.
- LSU is 5-1 against the spread in its last 6 road games against Texas A&M.

ESPN FPI's Prediction:

ESPN's Football Power Index has given its take on who will capture a victory on Saturday night in College Station between a pair of Top-15 programs in America.

The FPI is giving a slight edge to the Texas A&M Aggies with a 52.7% chance to win the SEC showdown with significant postseason implications on the line.

Mike Elko and the Aggies come out as the early favorites at home against the Tigers with the program set to utilize the 12th Man in Kyle Field.

The Early Prediction: LSU 28, Texas A&M 24

No. 8 LSU heads into Saturday night's SEC contest looking to break the recent trend of the home team capturing a victory in the LSU-Texas A&M series.

For Nussmeier and Co., it'll be a challenge to walk into Kyle Field and take down the Aggies in what will be the second of back-to-back SEC road games.

From a personnel perspective, the Bayou Bengals are the more talented team with Bradyn Swinson and Whit Weeks emerging as a lethal one-two punch on defense.

It's evident LSU's offense can put points on the board with Nussmeier, Kyren Lacy, Aaron Anderson and Mason Taylor handling business through the air, but factor in a fast-rising LSU defense in the mix, and it's a recipe for success.

Brian Kelly's program is playing the "complementary football" they've been searching for all season long, and heading into Saturday night, all signs point towards them continuing their hot streak and breaking the trend of away teams struggling in this series.

LSU Tigers On SI will have a full preview and prediction of Saturday night's Week 9 clash on Friday with a pair of programs set to battle it out for the No. 1 spot in the Southeastern Conference.

More LSU News:

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Nick Saban Calls LSU Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier a "Sleeper" Ahead of 2024 Season

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