NO. 18 LSU ROUTS TEXAS A&M 45-21.
Emotional coach feels reality of fate after Tigers extend streak over Aggies
BATON ROUGE, La. — A resolute, red-eyed Kevin Sumlin dubbed it “business as usual” following Texas A&M’s 45-21 loss at LSU late Saturday night in Tiger Stadium. Then the emotional coach admitted the reality of the situation.
“That probably could change in the next couple of minutes,” Sumlin said.
A&M will fire Sumlin on Sunday or at the latest Monday, according to people with knowledge of the situation, following the Aggies’ 7-5 finish to the regular season and his 1620 mark against SEC West opponents over six seasons. The decision already had been made regardless of Saturday night’s outcome.
“No matter who you are or what you do, you’re able to live with yourself if you leave something better than it was when you got there,” said Sumlin, who at times appeared on the verge of tears during a postgame news conference.
Higher expectations
Whether the program is in better overall shape than when he arrived six years ago is debatable, but there’s no question his surroundings are better — one big reason A&M’s leaders expect more out of the program.
A&M spent nearly a half-billion dollars to rebuild Kyle Field starting three years ago, the Aggies’ Bright Football Complex is one of the nation’s nicest, and he’s among the top paid coaches at $5 million annually. A&M expect more based on much higher stakes than previous regimes, and his tenure failed to deliver on that front.
“We love our coach and we were playing hard for him every down,” A&M linebacker Cullen Gillaspia said after the Aggies’ sixth consecutive loss to LSU. “It sucks that we couldn’t win it for him. As far as I’m concerned, he’s still my coach.”
The Tigers (9-3, 6-2) built a 20-0 lead midway through the second thanks to a couple of Jack Gonsoulin field goals, an 11yard TD pass from Danny Etling to Russell Gage, and a 1-yard touchdown run by Darrel Williams.
To their credit, the Aggies (7-5, 4-4) declined to roll over and play dead the rest of the game. Instead, they scored their first points of the game with 21 seconds remaining in the first half, when Trayveon Williams rushed around the left side for a 2-yard score.
A&M tightened the gap to 20-14 on its first series of the second half, when Nick Starkel connected with a wide-open Damion Ratley over the middle for a 45-yard touchdown pass. The Aggies’ defense held on LSU’s ensuing possession, but Starkel immediately fired an interception to cornerback Donte Jackson, and the Tigers capitalized seven plays later on a 1-yard touchdown run by Derrius Guice.
A&M, in putting up a fight that was missing for much of the first half, responded with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Starkel to Christian Kirk, a junior who likely played his final regular-season game.
LSU countered with its own 10-yard touchdown pass, from Etling to J.D. Moore, in again shoving the Tigers to a double-digit cushion at 34-21 late in the third quarter, enough to salt away yet another win over A&M.
A year ago, Guice rushed for a school record 285 yards in the Tigers’ 5439 thumping of the Aggies at Kyle Field, but on Saturday, A&M “held” the junior to 127 yards on 28 carries. Guice is expected to turn pro following this season.
“We ran the ball well,” LSU coach Ed Orgeron said of a key to the game, “and we didn’t let them run the ball.”
With two years remaining on his contract, Sumlin is owed about $10 million. Sumlin, 53, is expected to be courted by multiple programs, considering the many positions already open or coming open in the next few days.
A&M is expected to woo Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher, who on Saturday declined to address other jobs following the Seminoles’ 38-22 victory over rival Florida.
Bowl fate pending
The Aggies will now await their bowl destination, and with a victory in the postseason would finish 8-5 for a fourth straight year, which A&M athletic director Scott Woodward said last offseason wasn’t good enough for Sumlin moving forward.
The Aggies only managed one winning record in SEC competition under Sumlin, and that was 6-2 in his first season of 2012, when then-quarterback Johnny Manziel won the Heisman Trophy.
Sumlin’s biggest success at A&M occurred in his first two seasons, when he was 20-6 primarily with players he inherited from Mike Sherman, who was fired following the 2011 season.