Isaiah Spiller, defense lead No. 5 Texas A&M to easy defeat of LSU
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) â On a night when its offense struggled, No. 5 Texas A&M got a scoring boost from its defense.
Isaiah Spiller ran for 141 yards and a touchdown and Buddy Johnson returned an interception for a score in Texas A&M's 20-7 victory over LSU on Saturday.
The Aggies led by 13 at halftime and got their only points after the break on the 15-yard return by Johnson, a linebacker.
âOnce I caught the ball there wasnât no other answer besides a touchdown," Johnson said.
Texas A&M extended its winning streak to five games in its first contest since Nov. 7 after the team couldnât play the last two weeks because of a coronavirus outbreak.
âI thought we could have played better," Spiller said. âWe were a little rusty."
The Aggies relied on their running game and tough defense on a wet and soggy night where rain fell steadily and made passing difficult. Kellen Mond had a season-low 105 yards passing in his first game this season without a touchdown pass. LSUâs 123rd-ranked pass defense broke up eight of his passes in the first half and finished with 11.
âOur offense was way too inconsistent, didnât get a rhythm (but) our team found a way to win the game and thatâs whatâs important," coach Jimbo Fisher said.
TJ Finley threw for 118 yards and had an interception in the second quarter for LSU (3-4) before he was benched for Max Johnson after Buddy Johnsonâs Pick-6 in the third quarter.
Texas A&M beat the Tigers for the second time in three years after the Aggies had a 74-72 victory in seven overtimes in LSUâs last visit to Kyle Field in 2018 in a game that tied the record for most OTs in an FBS game.
The Aggies limited LSU to 36 yards rushing and allowed just two of 16 third-down conversions.
LSU fumbled on a punt return with about six minutes left in the third, but the Aggies were unable to take advantage of the miscue when Mond was sacked on third down to force a punt.
Texas A&M made it 20-0 when Johnson picked off a pass Finley threw under heavy pressure and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown with about 4 1/2 minutes left in the third.
LSU coach Ed Orgeron ripped off his mask and screamed at Finley as he approached the sideline after the interception. He then put his hand on Finley's chest and continued yelling in his face for several more seconds before Finley retreated to the bench.
Orgeron was asked what he told Finley.
âJust protect the football. Donât throw the ball away like that," he said. âIt was a freshman mistake, but I wanted him to learn that thatâs not acceptable. Just take the sack.â
Max Johnson, who played briefly in the first half, finished the game and had 113 yards passing and a 3-yard TD pass that made it 20-7 with less than a minute remaining.
âOur offense was inconsistent all day," Orgeron said. âThey had a great plan on defense. We didnât match the plan. We should have had a better plan on offense. We couldnât run the ball. We couldnât protect. Itâs not all the quarterbackâs fault. He was running for his life all day â both of them were.â
Spiller had a 52-yard touchdown run, dragging a defender with him for the last couple of yards, to extend Texas A&Mâs lead to 10-0 late in the first quarter.
The Tigers looked to have cut the lead to 3 on a long TD catch by Kayshon Boutte with about nine minutes left in the second quarter. But the play was reviewed and ruled an incomplete pass.
The Aggies got the ball back on the next play when Finleyâs pass was tipped and intercepted by Jaylon Jones.
Cade Yorkâs 34-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left with about four minutes left in the first half to leave the Tigers scoreless.
Texas A&M led 13-0 at halftime after Seth Small made a 40-yard field goal at the end of the second quarter.