LSU 19, Texas A&M 7

LSU coach Les Miles drew a rousing round of applause and a scattered standing ovation from fans at Tiger Stadium Saturday night shortly before kickoff against Texas A&M as he walked from the north end zone and past midfield toward to the south end zone.

Alleva, LSU President F. King Alexander and Miles met in the coach’s private locker room at Tiger Stadium immediately following the victory.

The Tigers (8-3, 5-3 SEC), who trailed 7-6 at halftime and even midway through the third quarter, used the fourth quarter to grind down the Aggies (8-4, 4-4) and run the clock with running backs Leonard Fournette (159 total yards) and Derrius Guice (73 yards). LSU came into the game averaging 438 yards of offense per game, were held to just 250 by the Tigers.

That said, in an in-game interview with Maria Taylor of the SEC Network, O’Neal solidly backed Miles, and he said the school should be showing the coach “a lot more respect”. Three more runs moved the Tigers up to the Aggie 29. LSU could have had a nine-win regular season if not for lightning canceling the season opener against heavy underdog McNeese State.

Following the reports Miles might be fired, a groundswell of support was shown for Miles by fans and other supporters, which may have played a big part in the decision to keep Miles. Fournette became the first LSU rusher to eclipse the 1,700 yard mark in a season with 1,741 yards.

Throughout the past two weeks or so, the college football community was collectively up in arms with the way the LSU administration was treating Les Miles. “In a game like that, with the emotion of senior night and everything that’s going on here, you can’t make mistakes we made tonight and expect to win”.

LSU’s defense stood tall, helping overcome a shaky outing from Harris (8-for-21) and three missed field goals by Trent Domingue.

Miles said earlier in the day that junior receiver will be out three months after injuring his hamstring against Ole Miss.

LSU clinched the win with a drive its coach had to be proud of: a 13-play, 80-yard march that ran off 8 minutes, 3 seconds.

The Aggies gained 89 rushing yards, averaging a scant 2.7 yards per attempt, and had 161 yards passing as the Tigers dominated for most of the evening with its most complete performance of the season. There will be plenty of time to figure out what happens next, including LSU’s bowl destination.