(22) LSU Tigers Face The Challenge Of Stopping Johnny Manziel And (12) Texas A&M Aggies Offense

The SEC West division is out of the question for LSU and Texas A&M (it will come down to Alabama/Auburn), but there is still plenty to play for this Saturday afternoon at 3:30 pm ET on CBS. Johnny Manziel is right in the middle of the Heisman Trophy race, and can really boost his standing against Jameis Winston with a great performance in a tough environment at Tiger Stadium.

Certainly this wasn’t how LSU expected their season to go, with three losses by the middle of November. But all three of those losses came on the road. Playing at home in front of the atmosphere in Tiger Stadium is something different entirely. The Tigers are 5-0 at home this season and look to push that mark to 6-0. LSU has lost two of its last three games, the last of which was a 38-17 defeat to Alabama. The Tigers got last week off to regroup, and now have to figure out a way to stop an Aggies offense that ranks among the best in the SEC.

Texas A&M has won three-straight since their home loss to Auburn back on October 19th. The last two games on their schedule aren’t easy though, closing it out with LSU and then No.8 Missouri. The Aggies rank 5th in the country in scoring, averaging 49.2 points per game. And this isn’t a juggernaut Tigers defense that we’ve seen in the past. LSU can surrender points. They gave up 44 to Georgia earlier this season and 38 to Alabama in their last outing.

Obviously the key here for the Tigers is limiting the production of Johnny Manziel. LSU will be able to score because Texas A&M’s defense is just awful. This should be another shootout similar to the Georgia game where the team with the ball last will probably get the win.

But if LSU can create some turnovers or make a couple of things happen where they can open it up by a couple of scores to maintain a lead they should be fine. Tigers quarterback Zach Mettenberger might have his best game against an SEC opponent, Georgia included.