LSU Stuns Texas A&M With Late TD

Aggies blow fourth quarter lead to end the regular season at 8-4

An uneven regular season ended with a dud, as No. 15 Texas A&M was upset 27-24 Saturday night at LSU.

LSU quarterback Max Johnson hit Jaray Jenkins on a 28-yard touchdown with 20 seconds left to overcome a late Aggies rally. The Tigers went 75 yards on the winning scoring drive.

The Aggies head into bowl season at 8-4 overall and 4-4 in the SEC, having dropped their last two conference games. In losses to Ole Miss and LSU, Texas A&M scored only 43 points.

The Tigers (6-6, 3-5) made the most of Ed Orgeron’s final game Tiger Stadium. Whether he coaches in a bowl game is yet to determined.

The Aggies have gone bowling in all four years under Jimbo Fisher – and 13 years overall – but the destination is going to feel somewhat disappointing. Texas A&M went to the Orange Bowl last season and came into this one expecting to contend for the College Football Playoff.

Zack Calzada gutted through a sluggish evening to throw three touchdowns, including two in the fourth quarter to Jalen Preston. The latter was a wild 32-yarder that gave the Aggies their first lead at 24-20 with 7:33 to play.

The Aggies had a chance to ice the game with ball and 4:12 left. Unable to get a first down, Texas A&M had to punt and LSU had its final chance.

The Aggies were trying to win in Baton Rouge for the first time since 1994. Texas A&M still has a chance to win at least nine games for the second consecutive season.

LSU jumped out to a 10-0 lead, putting the Aggies on their heels. Johnson burned the A&M secondary with a 45-yard touchdown pass to Jenkins early in the second quarter.

Calzada led a 73-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard to Moose Muhammad III strike to the Texas A&M on the board with 4:31 left in the half.

The Aggies appeared content to go into the locker room down 10-7, but Johnson and LSU had other ideas. The Tigers called two timeouts late in the quarter to get the ball back with a little more than a minute left.

A simple screen from Johnson to Trey Palmer ended up going 61 yards, as the receiver slipped by A&M defenders and raced down the sideline into the end zone for a 17-7 lead at the break.

Texas A&M appeared to bottle up Johnson in the second half, especially with pressure coming from Michael Clemons. The Aggies had six sacks, but couldn't get to the left-handed quarterback on the last march.

Calzada finished 20 of 35 passing for 242 yards. Devon Achane had 72 yards receiving and 49 yards rushing. The Aggies r


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Art Garcia
ART GARCIA

Art Garcia (@ArtGarcia92) has watched, wondered and written about those fortunate few to play games since the 1990s. Award-winning stops at NBA.com, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and San Antonio Express-News dot a career that includes extensive writing for such outlets as ESPN.com, FOXSports.com, CBSSports.com, The Sporting News, among others. He is a former professor of sports reporting at UT Arlington and continues to work in the communications field. Garcia began covering the Dallas Mavericks right around Mark Cuban purchasing the club in 2000. The Texas A&M grad has also covered the Cowboys, Rangers, TCU, Big 12, Final Fours, countless bowl games, including the National Championship, and just about everything involving a ball in Texas.