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    • Aggies stun top-10 Tigers at Kyle Field
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    Aggies stun top-10 Tigers at Kyle Field

    Madoc Meredith Posted on

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    It was a tale of two halves as No. 14 Texas A&M football pulled away late to claim a dominant victory over No. 9 LSU 38-23 on Saturday.

    Thanks to two interceptions by defensive back BJ Mayes and the efforts of backup quarterback Marcel Reed and his three touchdowns, the Aggies outscored the Tigers 24-6 in the second half.

    “It was an important turning point. We needed a big stop to reverse the momentum. That first pick really did that,” defensive back BJ Mayes told reporters when asked about his first of two interceptions.

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    The Aggies scored on the next play after the interception, leading to three unanswered touchdowns.

    “They did their best in the first half. We made a lot of mistakes in the first half,” Mayes said. “…We have turned the corner and if we play our brand football, they can’t mess with us.”

    Reed scored all three points after coming on as a replacement for starting quarterback Conner Weigman, who went 6-for-18 for 64 yards before being substituted in the second half. Reed, a redshirt freshman, finished just 2-for-2 for 70 yards but had a sensational performance on the ground. His 62 yards on nine carries contributed to a 242-yard rushing performance for the Aggies.

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    The decision to play Reed, who went 3-0 as a starter while Weigman was injured earlier in the year, created an immediate spark.

    “(The Tigers) mixed up the coverage well. There weren’t many open windows. It certainly wasn’t all Conner’s fault,” Elko told reporters after the game. “At halftime you know what you have to do. It didn’t look like it was going in a better direction. We had to run the ball and we needed Marcel’s legs.”

    Amari Daniels led the way with 91 yards on 12 carries, while Le’Veon Moss added 83 yards on 14 carries.

    108,852 fans saw the comeback live; the third largest crowd in Kyle Field history.

    “(Weigman) said, ‘Let’s go, you got it.’ “We’re brothers and teammates,” Reed recalled of the conversation between him and the older passer when he was told he was going in. “I have his back.”

    The Aggies proved their College Football Playoff thoughts are well-deserved by picking up their seventh win of the season and remaining undefeated in the conference. No other team is perfect in SEC competition as the calendar turns to November next week.

    In his first season, Elko led A&M to a 5-0 start in conference play, the Aggies’ best start since joining the conference more than a decade ago.

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    “This is a real program. “I’m not a politician up here screwing everyone…For all the recruits out there that want to play really good football, this is a good place,” Elko said.

    After punts from every offense, including a three-and-out by the Tigers, LSU found a rhythm on its second possession, driving eight plays and 86 yards, scoring three points and taking an early 3-0 lead.

    After LSU took the lead, Aggies running back Le’Veon Moss caught a third-down checkdown on the ensuing possession, but fumbled on the run, and LSU was there to absorb the mistake. A&M set the Tigers up on the 21st with a 15-yard personal foul.

    LSU capitalized on the mistake with a two-yard touchdown pass from Garrett Nussmeier to tight end Mason Taylor to extend its lead to 10-0.

    A&M fell behind by two possessions and had to respond to keep the game from getting too far away from them. The Aggies orchestrated a nine-play, 75-yard drive capped by a seven-yard touchdown run by Moss to extend the Tigers’ lead to 10-7.

    After almost 11 minutes of play with no points from either team, the Tigers used a three-play drive to extend their lead back to 10. Nussmeier found wide receiver Aaron Anderson for 76 yards, extending the lead to 17-7 with 4:56 left in the first half.

    Next up for No. 14 Texas A&M is a test against South Carolina.

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    Madoc Meredith
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