Marcel Reed takes over, Texas A&M takes the solo SEC lead after a furious rally at LSU

With a month left in the season, there is only one team left undefeated in SEC play: Texas A&M. The Aggies switched quarterbacks from Conner Weigman to Marcel Reed midway through the game and scored 31 points in the second half to outrun LSU 38-23, handing the Tigers their first conference loss.

Texas A&M outscored LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier three times in the second half and erased a 10-point halftime deficit with an offense led by speedy redshirt freshman Reed, who finished the game with 91 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Here's what you need to know about a night of wild momentum swings in College Station.

How Marcel Reed's emergence changed the A&M offense

LSU sacked Weigman four times in the first two and a half quarters, so head coach Mike Elko had to do something to relieve the pressure. It rarely felt like Weigman was comfortable in the pocket.

Reed's emergence opened up a variety of options for coordinator Collin Klein and the Texas A&M offense. Klein's system seems designed for someone with Reed's abilities; Klein himself was a great dual-threat quarterback at Kansas State. The quarterback run game changes the math for opposing defenses and forces them to account for an extra player.

Weigman is a great athlete, but he's more of a climber than a natural downhill runner, making him less suited to the offense. When Reed entered, there was suddenly more space to run at the line of scrimmage. When A&M switched to the read option – which led to Reed's touchdown run on his first snap of the night – and delved into the full range of pre-snap moves and shifts, LSU struggled to explain everything and the Aggies were able to get chunks of yardage on the ground.

Reed isn't just a runner, however. His 54-yard completion to Noah Thomas in the fourth quarter was as good and confident a throw as any quarterback on Saturday night. Reed only threw the ball twice, but it was effective and accurate. After the long shot to Thomas, the A&M fans at Kyle Field chanted Reed's name.

Reed led A&M to a road win at Florida and a neutral-site win against Arkansas. If A&M stands by him in the future, he will have earned the faith and trust of his team and staff. — Sam Khan Jr.

Mistakes cost LSU dearly

The Tigers played as solid a first half as one could hope for before falling apart in the third quarter. Nussmeier appeared to be confident in the pocket, handling the pressure deftly and making crucial, precise throws to push the Tigers to a double-digit lead.

The third quarter showed a completely different LSU team. Nussmeier threw his three interceptions, a would-be field goal attempt failed when a snap bounced off the left shoulder of unsuspecting player/owner Peyton Todd, and LSU opened the second half with four consecutive empty possessions.

Texas A&M deserves credit for the defensive adjustment that gives Nussmeier and the LSU offense a different look. But the lack of a running game is also a major cause of LSU's collapse. Neither Caden Durham nor Josh Williams could find room to run consistently, although Durham was a key factor out of the backfield as a receiver. If LSU could consistently move the chains on the floor, Nussmeier wouldn't have so much on his shoulders.

LSU's advantage in this game was at receiver, as Kyren Lacy and Aaron Anderson won battles against the Texas A&M secondary with their big-play skills. But some semblance of poise would have helped LSU stave off the Aggies' comeback. — khan

Texas A&M’s defense delivers

Elko and defensive coordinator Jay Bateman changed their looks well in the second half, but also gave credit to A&M's defensive front. Although LSU did a good job protecting Nussmeier early and didn't allow a sack in the first three quarters, A&M continually attacked the quarterback, forcing him into difficult throws and decisions and preventing him from getting too comfortable in the second half. Eventually the pressure started to come home

In Elko's first four years at A&M as Jimbo Fisher's defensive coordinator, the Aggies were often able to rely on defense for consistent, quality play. This will also become an integral part of this team in 2024. — khan

Garrett Nussmeier's roller coaster

Nussmeier is one of the quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft class. But his performance Saturday night against Texas A&M might as well have been a microcosm for the entire group. As soon as you start complimenting them, the engine starts rattling.

In a year in which the play of the top college quarterbacks was completely inconsistent and the race for QB1 remained completely undecided, Nussmeier entered Saturday night as one of the biggest risers in the class – and left the team disappointed with three interceptions and a loss. However, this doesn't change the story of Nussmeier's year, at least not yet.

The junior is a smart processor with an above-average arm, enough athleticism to evade pressure and enough confidence to make predictive throws between the numbers. He doesn't take sacks, he's strong enough to take hits, and he's smart enough to keep his team in the game. However, he is far from a finished product, as we saw on Saturday evening.

Earlier this week, colleague Dane Brugler compared Nussmeier to the college version of Tony Romo: not a player with obvious physical attributes, but a talented passer with survival skills. Nussmeier has what it takes to develop into a very good prospect, and while Saturday night was one of his more inconsistent efforts (he still threw for 405 yards), he's still one to watch out for next spring, should he announce this. Nussmeier could obviously benefit greatly from returning to LSU for another year. However, if he shakes this off and plays well, he could be in a good position to take advantage of a weak QB draft. — Nick Baumgardner

Texas A&M can smell history

After losing their season opener at home to Notre Dame, the Aggies are now in the driver's seat, playing for a conference title for the first time since winning the Big 12 in 1998 and trying to stay out of the SEC's group of six those who did never made it to the SEC Championship game in Atlanta. The Aggies were picked to finish ninth in the SEC this summer, but first-year coach Mike Elko has put together the troubled program left behind by Jimbo Fisher and followed his penchant for success early in his tenure Brought to College Station.

Offensive coordinator Collin Klein has handled an uncertain quarterback situation and relied on the running game while Elko has rebuilt a defense that was destroyed by the transfer portal last offseason.

The Aggies haven't won double-digit games since Johnny Manziel's 2012 Heisman Trophy season; Before that, they hadn't done that since 1998. South Carolina, Auburn, New Mexico State and a season finale against rival Texas at Kyle Field are all that's left on A&M's regular season schedule.

In so many seasons over the past two decades, preseason hype has led to midseason disappointment in Aggieland. Now, in a year that began with modest expectations, the Aggies are on track for one of the best campaigns in recent program history. — David Ubben

(Photo: Tim Warner/Getty Images)