That's How You Respond: LSU Dominates Texas A&M in Death Valley

One week ago, LSU left Oxford with questions.

One week ago, LSU left Oxford with questions.Saturday night, the Tigers answered them.

Loudly.

Coming off its first loss of the Lane Kiffin era, No. 10 LSU returned to Death Valley and delivered perhaps its most complete performance of the season, dismantling No. 23 Texas A&M 35-6.

No dramatic comeback.

No fourth-quarter survival.

No excuses needed.

Just LSU football.

The Tigers controlled the game, suffocated an Aggie offense that gave them nightmares a year ago and reminded everyone that one loss in Oxford wasn't going to define this team.

If LSU needed a response, this was it.

Remember Marcel Reed?

Tiger fans certainly do.

A year ago, Marcel Reed walked into Death Valley and helped Texas A&M hang 49 points on LSU, including 108 rushing yards and two touchdowns of his own.

This time?

LSU was ready for him.

Defensive coordinator Blake Baker built a game plan specifically designed to keep Reed contained, and the difference was staggering.

Reed completed just 10 of 26 passes for 106 yards, finished with minus-13 rushing yards and didn't account for a single touchdown.

LSU sacked him four times.

Tamarcus Cooley intercepted him.

And Texas A&M never found the end zone.

Not once.

For a defense that has been LSU's most consistent strength through the opening month of the season,

Saturday might have been its best performance yet.

Then Lane Kiffin Did Lane Kiffin Things

LSU led 14-3 early in the third quarter when Kiffin faced a decision.

Fourth-and-1.

LSU's own 43-yard line.

The safe decision was obvious.

Punt.

Trust the defense that had dominated all night.

Make Texas A&M drive the length of the field.

Kiffin almost did exactly that.

Then he remembered who he was.

LSU lined up like it was going to run for the first down.

Instead, Sam Leavitt dropped back.

Jackson Harris slipped behind the defense.

Nobody was there.

Fifty-seven yards. Touchdown.

Kiffin was already sprinting down the sideline before the ball reached Harris.

21-3.

Death Valley erupted.

And Texas A&M never recovered.

Afterward, Kiffin explained that being aggressive is part of why LSU hired him.

That's exactly what Saturday looked like.

Don't play not to lose.

Go take the game.

Jackson Harris Has Arrived

Saturday also belonged to Jackson Harris.

The LSU receiver entered the night looking for his breakout performance.

He found it.

Harris finished with six catches for 163 yards and two touchdowns, including the 57-yard fourth-down strike that broke the game open.

His first touchdown came late in the second quarter when Leavitt found him from 16 yards out to give

LSU a 14-3 halftime advantage.

His second changed the entire feel of the night.

Two touchdowns.

163 yards.

And suddenly another weapon has emerged in Kiffin's offense.

Winston Watkins Jr. wasn't far behind, finishing with 107 receiving yards of his own.

LSU's passing game finally showed what it can look like when everything starts connecting.

A Gutsy Night From Sam Leavitt

Sam Leavitt needed this one too.

After throwing three interceptions against Louisiana Tech and another late interception in the loss to

Ole Miss, LSU's quarterback entered Saturday needing a cleaner performance.

He delivered one.

Leavitt completed 17 of 23 passes for 312 yards and two touchdowns, repeatedly attacking Texas

A&M downfield.

And he did much of it hurt.

Leavitt pulled his hamstring during the second quarter, limiting his ability to create with his legs.

Instead of unraveling, he adjusted.

He stayed in the pocket.

Got the football out.

Trusted his receivers.

And played one of his best games as an LSU Tiger.

Kiffin called it a gutsy performance.

It was.

LSU Didn't Let Up

The fourth-down touchdown made it 21-3.

Then LSU's defense forced another stop.

Backup quarterback Landen Clark entered and scored on a four-yard run.

28-3.

Texas A&M managed another field goal.

LSU answered again.

Clark scored his second touchdown of the quarter.

35-6.

By the time the fourth quarter arrived, there wasn't much left to decide.

Texas A&M had been beaten.

Physically.

Schematically.

And mentally.

The Aggies finished with just 197 total yards compared with LSU's 506.

A&M head coach Mike Elko admitted afterward that he didn't have many words.

There really weren't many necessary.

From Oxford Back to Death Valley

This is what good teams have to learn how to do.

LSU spent an entire offseason hearing expectations.

Then it destroyed Clemson.

Struggled through mistakes against Louisiana Tech.

Went into Oxford and lost a game it fought desperately to get back into.

For the first time under Kiffin, LSU had to answer a loss.

Saturday showed us something about this team.

There was no hangover.

No feeling sorry for itself.

No allowing one loss to become two.

Instead, LSU walked back into Death Valley and beat a ranked SEC opponent by 29 points.

That's a response.

Don't Forget What Happened Here Last Year

Maybe that's what makes Saturday even sweeter.

Texas A&M came into Death Valley last season and embarrassed LSU.

Reed ran wild.

The Aggies scored 49.

LSU couldn't stop them.

A year later, the same quarterback returned to the same stadium against the same defensive coordinator.

Six points.

That's development.

That's adjustment.

That's what good coaching is supposed to look like.

And it's another reason LSU's defense deserves to be taken seriously.

LSU Isn't Finished

The Tigers are now 3-1 and 1-1 in SEC play.

Oxford still happened.

That loss doesn't disappear because LSU dominated Texas A&M.

Neither do the mistakes we've seen through the first month of the season.

But Saturday reminded us why expectations in Baton Rouge remain high.

The defense looks capable of carrying LSU against anyone.

Leavitt just delivered one of his best performances of the season.

Another playmaker emerged in Jackson Harris.

And Lane Kiffin showed exactly the kind of aggression LSU hired him to bring.

One week ago, we ended our Ole Miss recap with four words:

Now comes the response.

Well, we got it.

LSU 35. Texas A&M 6.

Message received.