Daily College Football

LSU TRAVELS TO FACE TEXAS A&M ON THANKSGIVING NIGHT
LSU, now 4-2 under head coach Ed Orgeron, will play its game of the regular season on Thursday night when the 25th-ranked Tigers travel to College Station, Texas to face 22nd-ranked Texas A&M. Kickoff between the Tigers and Aggies is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN. It’s the third straight year that LSU and Texas A&M play in the season finale. LSU, which is coming off a 16-10 loss to Florida last week, brings a 6-4 overall mark and a 4-3 league record into the game. Texas A&M beat Texas-San Antonio, 23-10, last week and stands at 8-3 overall and 4-3 in SEC action. LSU is 4-0 against the Aggies since A&M joined the SEC in 2012. Overall, LSU has won five straight against Texas A&M, which includes a 41-24 win in the 2011 Cotton Bowl, and leads the series, 31-20-3. LSU will play on Thanksgiving for the 27th time in program history and the Tigers are 11-10-5 in those games. Two years ago, LSU beat Texas A&M, 23-17, on Thanksgiving Night in College Station. Orgeron is 20-29 overall (4-2 at LSU, 6-2 at Southern Cal, 10-25 at Ole Miss) and he’s 10-4 in his last 14 games as a head coach. LSU brings one of the nation’s top defenses into the game as the Tigers have allowed just 11 touchdowns all season, the fewest in the FBS. Overall, LSU ranks No. 2 in the SEC in rush defense (115.2), No. 3 in scoring defense (14.1) and total defense (308.1) and No. 5 in pass defense (192.9). Offensively, LSU is averaging 25.7 points and 406.1 total yards (220.2 rushing, 174.0 passing) per game. RB Derrius Guice leads LSU and ranks No. 4 in the SEC with 96.4 yards rushing per game (964 yards, 10 TDs). He’s followed by Leonard Fournette (843 yards, 8 TDs). QB Danny Etling is 5-3 as the starter for the Tigers and has completed 124-of-212 passes for 1,582 yards, seven touchdowns and four interceptions. His top targets are Malachi Dupre (30 rec., 404 yards, 2 TDs), Travin Dural (28 rec., 280 yards, 1 TD), and D.J. Chark (21 rec., 360 yards, 3 TDs). Defensively, LB Kendell Beckwith leads the Tigers in tackles with 91. Other defensive leaders for LSU include LB Duke Riley (81 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 1 Int.), S Jamal Adams (65 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 1 Int.), DT Davon Godchaux (52 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks) and OLB/DE Arden Key (50 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 10.0 sacks, 10 QB hurries, 3 forced fumbles).

TALKING POINTS
•LSU is now 4-2in the Season of Orgeron, winning the four games by a combined 112 points. In six games under Coach “O”, LSU has allowed just 7 touchdowns and outscored opponents 93-33 in the second half. Overall under Coach “O”, LSU has outscored the opposition 173-64 or 28.8-10.7 per game.

•LSU remains only team in the FBS to hold opponents to 21 points or less in every game this year.

•The 11 touchdowns allowed by the LSU defense is the fewest in the nation. LSU has given up just 20 first quarter points and 23 third quarter points this year. LSU didn’t allow a first quarter TD until the sixth game of the season (Southern Miss). Wisconsin and Florida are the only teams to score a third quarter TD on the Tigers this year.

•Under Coach Orgeron, LSU has held its opponent scoreless in 13 of 24 quarters, including scoreless first halves against both Alabama and Missouri. LSU also held Ole Miss scoreless in the second half.

•LSU features the only backfield in the nation with 2 players who have rushed for 250 yards or more in a game this season (Leonard Fournette 284 vs. Ole Miss; Derrius Guice 252 vs. Arkansas). Overall, LSU has three backs (other Darrel Williams) who have rushed for 100 yards or more in a game this year.

•Fournette (843 yards) and Guice (964 yards) represent just the second 800-yard rushers in the same backfield in LSU history. The first two did it were Terry Robiskie (1,117 yards) and Charles Alexander (876 yards) in 1976.

•LSU LB Kendell Beckwith ranks No. 2 in the SEC in tackles (91) and tackles per game (9.1), while DE/OLB Arden Key leads the SEC in sacks per game (1.0) and ranks No. 2 in total sacks with 10.0. LB Duke Riley is No. 4 in the SEC in tackles per game with 8.1 a contest (81 total).

•Dating back to 2000, LSU has lost back-to-back games just 6 times.

•LSU’s defense has allowed its opponent to penetrate the redzone 29 times and the Tigers have allowed just 7 TDs on those occasions. LSU’s 7 redzone TDs allowed ranks No. 2 in the SEC, one behind Alabama.

•In its 4 losses, LSU allowed only 3 TDs. The 4 losses were by a combined 23 points and the outcome of the 2 of LSU’s 4 losses were decided on the final play of the game (Auburn and Florida).

•On 118 possessions by the opponent, LSU’s defense has allowed TDs on back-to-back possessions just one time (vs. Mississippi State).

•Since 2000, LSU has played 54 of its 62 games during the month of November ranked in the Top 25. And, since 2002, the Tigers have played 54 of their 57 November games ranked in the Top 25.