Texas A&M Aggies, LSU Tigers on 'Eerily Similar' Path

The Texas A&M Aggies and LSU Tigers have had very similar seasons ahead of their prime time showdown.

Nov 25, 2023; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers wide receiver Malik Nabers (8) rushes against Texas A&M Aggies defensive back Deuce Harmon (11) during the first half at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The game of the week in the SEC, and likely the entire country, features the Texas A&M Aggies hosting the LSU Tigers in a matchup of the last two unbeaten teams in conference play.

Since the Aggies joined the SEC in 2012, the old rivalry between these two teams has taken on new life. While LSU had the advantage early on, they've split their last six meetings with the home team winning each one. The most memorable matchup in that time has to be the 2018 game in College Station when A&M won 74-72 after seven overtimes in the highest-scoring game in FBS history.

This matchup isn't at the end of the regular season like it has been for over a decade now, but with both teams in the top 15, this may be the biggest game between them in a very long time.

In fact, the two teams have had remarkably similar seasons thus far. Both lost their season openers to a non-conference opponent - A&M to Notre Dame in College Station and LSU to USC in Las Vegas - before winning six in a row to rise to the top of the SEC.

Ahead of the primetime showdown, Aggies head coach Mike Elko couldn't help but notice the similarities.

"I think eerily similar in some ways," Elko said Monday. "Both had a big stage in the opener and both played a really close game all the way down to the fourth quarter and didn't make the plays at the end that they needed to be successful. And probably in some ways both got written off a little bit and then just went to work to get better and improved every week and continued true to their process and believing in who they were.

"And again, all of a sudden, you pick your head up and here you are. And that's usually where success comes from when you do things like that."

Getting to 4-0 in the SEC is no small feat. Getting to 5-0, especially against another top-15 team, is even more impressive. It goes without saying, but Elko and the Aggies know the challenge ahead.

"I think the challenge is the week in week out in this league.," Elko said. "You cannot help but get in situations where the game's on the line coming down the stretch. And your ability to make those plays to come out on the right end of those games is everything. It's not to say we've got that recipe right or don't have that recipe right, but that's just SEC football.

"You see it all over this conference. It comes down to the fourth quarter, whatever it is, whoever's playing, and someone makes a play and someone doesn't and all of a sudden you get a result.

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