MAKINGS OF A RIVALRY
A&M’s 7-overtime win over LSU means this series finally might be worth watching
COLLEGE STATION — Seven overtimes, 146 points, one amazing football game.
In a game that will go down in history as one of the best ever played, Texas A&M beat LSU 74-72.
After all of that, it’s safe to say the rivalry between the Aggies and the Tigers is legit.
As the Aggies’ offense lined up in one of their many overtimes Saturday night, Kyle Field felt like a stadium in the midst of an intense rivalry game.
The back-and-forth drama between the two went on for four quarters and extended into the extra periods, which came after Kellen Mond threw a 19-yard strike to Quartney Davis in the end zone as time expired.
That play to end regulation was exceptional. And things only got better from there.
Fans clad in maroon wore expressions of anxiety while they chewed at their their nails and took deep breaths. Tension filled the stadium to the brim while 101,501 fans stressed out in the stands, taking in the instant classic.
A giant set of speakers pointed at the visiting Tigers band blared the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band brass to drown out the upbeat tunes and the small visiting fan section in one end zone.
The proud Tigers held their own, on their feet in hostile territory, screaming with every ounce of energy they had left as the game kept going. And going. And going.
The electric atmosphere hit all the right notes for a Thanksgiving weekend game, the final one of the regular season.
As much as Texas A&M has yearned to make LSU its rival and as great as Saturday’s night installment of the series between the Southeastern Conference foes was, it was almost for nothing.
The Aggies needed to beat LSU to make this series something more than what it’s been: another conference football game late in the season.
A good rivalry requires drama. It requires some back-and-forth. It requires two teams that can go after each other and talk trash.
When one team wins every time, that’s hard to do.
Since joining the SEC seven seasons ago, the Aggies had failed to beat their neighbors from Louisiana.
On Saturday night, that changed.
It took seven overtimes, lategame heroics and a little bit of luck.
The Aggies finally got the Tiger off their back.
This year, heading into LSU week felt different for the Aggies. They went in with more hope. This year, they had Jimbo Fisher on their side.
Fisher, who LSU pursued to be its head coach a few years ago, understands that a rivalry can’t exist when one team just keeps winning.
“We need to pick up our part of it,” Fisher said earlier in the week. “Us getting on a winning track would make it a rivalry — you’ve got to have somebody beat you on the other side to do it.”
Fisher is changing things at Kyle Field.
The Aggies are a better team this season than they have been the last few years. And Saturday’s win is a signature one this season to prove that.
Headed into the game, the Aggies were ranked second nationally in stopping the run by holding opposing offenses to 82.8 rushing yards per game.
They’ve been the best in their conference at controlling the clock with an average possession time of 35:23 (which ranks second nationally.)
They were one of six schools in the country to rank in the top 30 in both total offense and total defense.
And now, they have a win over the No. 7 team in the country.
Fisher knew beating LSU wouldn’t be easy. He’s familiar with the Tigers.
He coached their offense in 2000-06. He was a lead candidate for the head coaching job there three times- in 2004, 2015 and 2016.
As things would turn out, Fisher ended up in College Station with a lucrative contract.
Now he’s coached the Aggies against his former team in a game that made history. Saturday’s was the highest scoring affair in NCAA football history. The seven overtimes tied the NCAA record for most overtime periods in an FBS game.
Fisher’s history with LSU made Saturday’s game more interesting and his ties with LSU will help grow the budding rivalry between the two schools.
So does the fact that the two schools aren’t far from each other. They recruit several of the same areas — including greater Houston. They both have rich tradition and strong fan bases.
A few wins, some balance in the record between the two SEC schools would help solidify the game’s place among others during the final week of the regular season when several other rivalry games are played.
And since the teams played one of the greatest games in history, all eyes will be on this matchup every year from here on out.
A&M-LSU will never replace the Texas- Texas A&M rivalry the state is yearning to have back.
But there is potential for LSU to be a a great rival for A&M.
Fisher — and thrilling win over the Tigers — can help ensure that.