No. 10 LSU Answers Ole Miss Loss With 35-6 Rout of No. 23 Texas A&M

Sam Leavitt accounted for two touchdowns on an injured ankle as No. 10 LSU pulled away from No. 23 Texas A&M one week after falling to Ole Miss.

No. 10 LSU rebounded from the first loss of the Lane Kiffin era with a 35-6 victory over No. 23 Texas A&M. The Tigers fell to Ole Miss the previous week, and this matchup offered the first measure of how they would respond under their new head coach.

LSU seized control early. The Tigers scored two touchdowns in the first half while limiting the Aggies to three points, and a game that seemed headed for a grind turned one-sided after the break as LSU dominated in every phase.

The decisive stretch came early in the third quarter. After LSU forced a Texas A&M three-and-out, Sam Leavitt sold a run fake and flipped a pass to Jackson Harris for a 57-yard touchdown that fooled the defense. The Aggies then turned the ball over on downs, LSU answered with another touchdown, and no Texas A&M possession lasted longer than six plays the rest of the way.

Leavitt spent the night managing an ankle injury. The issue limited his running, but he fought through it and finished with two touchdowns. He exited twice when LSU reached the goal line, with backup Landen Clark scoring both times on the ground, and Leavitt sat for most of the fourth quarter as Clark picked up game experience.

The lopsided score did not soften Kiffin's approach. Past the two-minute timeout, up 29 with the option to run out the clock, he kept calling plays and moving the offense, and LSU would have added another touchdown if wide receiver Jayce Brown had not dropped a pass from Clark.

Kiffin called the performance "a really good rebound, from obviously, the devastation of last week of letting go of that game we felt we could've won." He noted the Ole Miss game was not LSU's Super Bowl, only the Rebels', and praised his players for responding amid injuries that include one to running back Kewan Lacy.

Texas A&M generated little on offense. Rueben Owens II ran efficiently, gaining 62 yards on 11 carries, but the way the game unfolded cost him carries. Quarterback Marcel Reed finished 10-of-26 for 106 yards with no touchdowns and an interception, the fewest yards he has managed in any game with at least 12 pass attempts.

Pressing to spark the offense, Reed began forcing throws and was intercepted in the fourth quarter. With Reed aiming for a receiver on the sideline or trying to throw the ball away, a Tigers defensive back jumped the route, LSU took over in the red zone, and the ensuing score stretched the lead to 29.

The Aggies, ranked No. 8 to open the season, are 2-2 after consecutive conference defeats and will drop out of the top 25 in the next AP poll. They host Arkansas next week. LSU, which slid to No. 10 after the Ole Miss result, faces McNeese next weekend, capping a five-week opening stretch that included three Power 4 opponents and giving Leavitt a chance to rest before seven consecutive SEC games to close the season.