Reed takes control of for Weigman as Texas A&M rallies

Dave Wilson, ESPN Staff WriterOct 27, 2024, 01:52 AM ET

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Dave Wilson is a college football reporter. He formerly worked at The Dallas Morning News, San Diego Union-Tribune and Las Vegas Sun.COLLEGE STATION, Texas– Searching for a spark in the 3rd quarter while tracking LSU, Texas A&M coach Mike Elko benched his beginning quarterback, Conner Weigman, and handed the ball to Marcel Reed.A play later on, that spark caught fire, with Reed scoring on an 8-yard goal run on his first play, then leading the Aggies to 4 touchdowns and a field goal on their next 5 drives to power No. 14 Texas A&M to a 38-23 win over No. 8 LSU in front of 108,852, the third-largest crowd ever at Kyle Field.It was an exceptional turn of occasions, with LSU leading 17-7 at halftime.

The Tigers had actually won 104 straight games when leading by 10 points or more at the half, the longest such streak in the country, according to ESPN Research study. The Aggies had actually lost 26 straight games down by 10 or more at the break.But Reed’s jolt of adrenaline ended both streaks and led the Aggies to their very first 5-0 start in the

SEC given that signing up with the league in 2012. Texas A&M had a hard time to discover many openings in the LSU defense in the very first half, with Weigman going 6-of-18 for

64 backyards as the Aggies handled simply 3.6 lawns per play. However after Reed entered the game with 8:10 left in the third quarter, A&M outscored LSU 31-6, balancing 9.9 backyards per have fun with Reed running the show.Reed tossed just two passes, going 2-for-2 for 70 backyards, including a 54-yarder to Noah Thomas, and running nine times

for 62 backyards and 3 goals.”Obviously incredible credit to Marcel Reed to be all set to go tonight,”Elko stated.”It definitely wasn’t Conner’s fault.

There weren’t a great deal of open windows. We could not get the passing game unglued at all. We couldn’t call it right. I could not get them to run it right. We could not get open. It was just a list of problems. Conner didn’t throw it well at times. We just seemed like we needed a trigger and we pulled the trigger and opted for Marcel and what a trigger he offered us. “Editor’s Picks 2 Related Weigman said the Aggies’ calls were simple, just frequently

zone-read

plays where he checked out the defender and then went.”They were simply crashing, crashing at our running backs,” Reed stated.

“If they crashed, I pull the ball and run. And you see they did it a lot and I got a lot of chances to get some space and run and they didn’t truly make any changes. So that’s all it was.”The Aggies ‘defense likewise turned it on, getting to LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier

, who was 25-for-50 passing for 405 yards with 2 goals, but tossed three second-half interceptions. 2 of those went to BJ Mayes, a defensive back from Houston who spent his very first 2 seasons at Incarnate Word, last season at UAB and had just recently made the move from corner to nickel back. “It was beautiful, my journey, “Mayes stated. “My very first time playing nickel in my life. So to come in, as fast as I did, pick the

game up, and then start for a big-time game, LSU, that was amazing. “The Aggies ‘journey has actually likewise been something. They lost their season opener in the house 23-13 against Notre Dame, the very first big-time

match of the Elko age. This game would be a test of how far they have actually come because that obstacle.”It’s a big win, “Reed stated.”It was LSU, we all had a chip on our shoulder. We didn’t actually believe they respected us entering Kyle Field.

Getting that stimulate in the 2nd half and getting the group going, there was no going back from that at all.”Texas A&M has actually now won 7 directly, matching its win overall from last year’s 7-5 season that resulted in a$ 77.6 million buyout of coach Jimbo Fisher, and are 5-0 in

a conference for the first time because 1998, when the Aggies remained in the Big 12. Elko took over a program that had signed the No. 1 class in 2022, then went 11-11.”The entire rhetoric about this program was NIL, mercenaries and selfishness and all of those things,” Elko said.But the win over LSU is a recognition for Elko’s vision for what Texas A&M can be.

His team outrushed LSU 242-24, and his defense required Nussmeier into his very first profession three-interception game.

“This is a genuine program,” Elko stated.”It’s not fake. I’m not a politician running this program talking quick and BS-ing everybody.”Next week, the 7-1 Aggies head to South Carolina seeking to maintain their

lead in the SEC race. But Elko wasn’t looking too far forward right now.”The cost of success and the price of winning games like that is you have a target on your back, “Elko said.”What 5-0 methods is we’re really going to have a heck of a time to get to 6-0. “