Louisiana State Tigers vs Texas A&M Aggies Box Score on Nov 24, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Nov 24, 2016

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Derrius Guice ran for four touchdowns and a school-record 285 yards as LSU routed Texas A&M 54-39 on Thanksgiving evening at Kyle Field.

The Tigers improved to 7-4 overall and 5-3 in the SEC. LSU is 5-2 under interim coach Ed Orgeron, though that may not be enough for the Louisiana native to keep the job full-time.

News broke that the school is close to reaching an agreement with Houston coach Tom Herman to replace Les Miles, who was fired after the Tigers started 2-2.

If it was Orgeron's last game, it couldn't have gone much better. LSU had its high-scoring game of the season and racked up 624 yards of offense.

For the first time in school history, LSU had a 300-yard passer (Danny Etling) and 200-yard rusher in the same game. Guice broke the program's single-game rushing mark of 284 set earlier this season by teammate Leonard Fournette.

Guice set the tone with a long touchdown run on the first series of the game and never slowed down. The sophomore running back went over the 1,000-yard mark for first time and will head into bowl season with 1,249 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns on his resume.

The Aggies (8-4, 4-4) lost for the fourth time in the last six games. Texas A&M won its first six games and reached No. 4 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings before another late-season slide.

The four losses were all in SEC games. Texas A&M hasn't finished better than 4-4 in the SEC West since going 6-2 in 2012, the program's first season in the league.

The Aggies were hoping to receive a boost with the return of Trevor Knight, who missed two games with a shoulder injury. The graduate transfer quarterback threw for three touchdowns and 211 yards, but much of his production came with the game out of reach.

The Tigers scored touchdowns on five consecutive drives in the second half, with Guice crossing the goal line three times. Etling finished 20-of-28 passing for a career-high 324 yards and two scores.

Aggies running back Keith Ford rushed for 100 yards on 15 carries. Trayveon Williams ran for 68 yards to push his season total to 1,024 yards, becoming the first true freshman in A&M history to rush for 1,000 yards.

The Tigers needed less than two minutes to get on the board. Guice carried three times on the opening march, including a tackle-breaking 45-yard touchdown run.

The Aggies tied the game midway through the first quarter on Knight's 36-yard touchdown pass to Kirk.

LSU went up 13-7 early in the second period after consecutive field-goal drives. That likely would have been the halftime score if not for a critical Texas A&M mistake in the last minute of the half.

Looking to run out clock deep, Williams was stripped of the football by linebacker Devin White. Set up at the Aggies' 20-yard line with 43 seconds left, Etling found Malachi Dupre in the end zone two plays later and LSU took a 20-7 edge into the break.

NOTES: Reports surfaced during the game that LSU had zeroed in on hiring Houston coach Tom Herman, with a deal in place as soon as Saturday. Athletic director Joe Alleva declined comment. ... LSU DE Arden Key, the team's sack leader, was suspended for the game, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. RB Leonard Fournette, LR Kendell Beckwith and WR Travin Dural were out with injuries. ... Texas A&M backup QB Jake Hubenak started two games in place of Knight, going 1-1. ... LSU came in with a five-game winning streak in the series, including four straight as SEC members. Texas A&M's last win came in 1995.