LSU needed a response after its loss at Ole Miss. It delivered one in Death Valley, beating No. 23 Texas A&M 35 to 6 on Saturday night. The Tigers piled up 506 yards, while their defense held the Aggies to 197.
Five players stood out in a win that gave LSU plenty to celebrate.
Jackson Harris: The game breaker
Harris was the clear offensive player of the game. He caught six passes for 163 yards and both of LSU’s receiving touchdowns.
His 16 yard score gave LSU a 14 to 3 lead just before halftime. Then came the play that broke the game open. On fourth and one in the third quarter, Harris slipped behind the defense, and Sam Leavitt found him for a 57 yard touchdown. LSU led 21 to 3, and Texas A&M never got close again. Harris turned a bold call into the defining moment of the night.
Sam Leavitt: The quarterback who made it work
Leavitt completed 17 of 23 passes for 312 yards and two touchdowns. He spread the ball downfield, found Harris twice in the end zone and helped LSU finish with 506 yards of offense.
The fourth down touchdown required Leavitt to sell the play fake, spot Harris and deliver the throw. He did all three. His precision helped turn a competitive first half into a comfortable LSU win.
Winston Watkins Jr.: The spark before halftime
Watkins caught five passes for 107 yards, giving LSU another dangerous target alongside Harris. Two of his biggest catches went for 35 and 36 yards on the same drive late in the first half.
Those gains moved the Tigers downfield before Leavitt hit Harris for the touchdown that made it 14 to 3. Harris finished the drive, but Watkins supplied the bursts that got LSU there. With both receivers producing big plays, Texas A&M had far more to defend than it could handle.
Deuce Geralds: The freshman in the backfield
Geralds looked right at home against an SEC opponent. The freshman defensive tackle finished with five tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.
He stopped Marcel Reed behind the line on one play and sacked him later in the first half. LSU held Reed to 106 passing yards and negative 13 rushing yards after sacks. Geralds was a major part of the pressure that kept the Aggies’ quarterback from settling in.
Princewill Umanmielen: Pressure from the edge
Umanmielen gave Texas A&M problems from the start. He helped force an incompletion on the Aggies’ first possession, sending their punt team onto the field. He finished with six tackles, one sack and one and a half tackles for loss.
LSU sacked Reed four times and kept him from scoring a touchdown. Geralds brought the disruption inside; Umanmielen supplied it off the edge. Together, they helped make a talented quarterback’s night miserable.
Harris provided the headline play, Leavitt and Watkins made LSU’s passing game dangerous, and Geralds and Umanmielen helped the defense take control. Each earned a place among the players of the game because the box score and the biggest moments point to the same conclusion: LSU had stars on both sides of the ball Saturday night.
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