Aggies not listening to Tigers’ tale of revenge
Team isn’t worried about LSU’s talk of rectifying 7-OT loss
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M linebacker Buddy Johnson said the Aggies intend to collide head-on with LSU on Saturday night at Tiger Stadium. As for the Tigers’ early yapping in the budding SEC West rivalry? Johnson said the Aggies will happily duck the chit-chat until kickoff.
“We’re just staying away from it. There’s no reason to talk right now,” Johnson said of ignoring LSU’s bravado. “We’re just focused on us right now and staying locked in.”
The Tigers have talked openly about exacting revenge on A&M for last year’s seven-overtime loss at Kyle Field, a curious approach in an age of typically tight-lipped players and coaches before big games.
“It’s based on them. I can’t speak for them or how it affects them,” A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said of LSU’s brash tactics leading to Saturday’s showdown in Baton Rouge, La. “It may help them, or it may not. All I can worry about is us, and we’re going to prepare like we always do. We know what kind of team they are, and we know they’re going to want to play us (hard).”
The Aggies (7-4, 4-3 SEC) face their third No. 1 team this season in the Tigers (11-0, 7-0), an NCAA record for a program since the Associated Press started its poll in 1936. LSU will be trying to win for the seventh time in eight meetings since the A&M joined the SEC in 2012.
Last year the Aggies and Tigers played a classic, with A&M prevailing 74-72 in a seventh overtime on a Kellen Mond-to-Kendrick Rogers, two-point conversion pass. The Tigers, led then and now by star quarterback Joe Burrow, believed they were the victims of a handful of bad calls by officials late.
“After the game, we felt helpless,” LSU coach Ed Orgeron said Monday of that nearly five-hour affair on a Saturday night in College
Station. “I saw Joe getting three IVs, guys hurt. They gave everything they had, and I don’t know how many hours we played for. We just felt helpless, and then we felt that when our time comes, we’re going to do something about it. Now’s the time.”
The Tigers, who finished 10-3 last season, are on a mission to win their first national title since 2007 and make their first College Football Playoff. The current system started in 2014.
After LSU whipped woebegone Arkansas last Saturday by 36 points, Tigers running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire said of next facing A&M, “We owe those guys a lot from last year.”
About 300 miles west in College Station, the Aggies heard it all from their purple-and-gold clad rivals.
“Everybody should think like that,” smiling A&M receiver Jhamon Ausbon said of the Tigers’ bluster. “That’s a great mindset to have.”
This will mark Mond’s second start against the Tigers. Last year he finished 23-of-49 passing for 287 yards and six touchdowns, with three of those coming in the overtime periods.
“He’s dangerous,” Orgeron said of Mond. “Last year he had a lights-out game against us, running the ball, throwing the ball to big receivers. They had a great scheme. He’s one of the better players we’re going to see all year.”
The Aggies are coming off a 1913 loss at No. 4 Georgia. They were marching late for a go-ahead touchdown before their final drive was thwarted by one of the nation’s top defenses. A&M was nearly back in College Station late Saturday night when the tough talk began emitting from Tiger Stadium concerning the regularseason finale.
A&M has played one of the alltime toughest schedules leading to Thanksgiving weekend, prompting Mond to shrug when reminded of LSU’s banter.
“We’re not scared at all,” Mond said. “And we’re not backing down.”
A&M’s most intimidating player, defensive tackle Justin Madubuike, adopted a diplomatic approach in discussing the talkative Tigers.
“It’s just another opportunity for us to finish the season strong,” Madubuike said of a consecutive road game against a top-five foe to close out the regular season. “What happened last year was last year, and this year is a new year and a great opportunity for us. We believe we could have beaten the No. 4 team in the country, but we came up a little short.
“(This week) is pretty chippy, based on the talking and the buzz and the energy already. You can feel it, and it’s only Monday.”