The Aggies travel to Baton Rouge on Saturday to end an eventful 2023 regular season against the No. 15 LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium. Interim head coach Elijah Robinson is just one game into his tenure, and there is already confidence from the players to go out with a bang in Death Valley.
Last season at Kyle Field, the Aggies knocked off the then-No. 16 Tigers 38-23 in a game where A&M quarterback Conner Weigman outdueled Jayden Daniels. Daniels had more completions and yards, throwing for 189 yards on 21-of-35 passing, but he failed to throw a touchdown pass. Weigman, on the other hand, threw for just 155 yards on 12-of-18 passing but found the end zone twice through the air.
Aggies' wideout Ainias Smith missed that game with a broken leg suffered against Arkansas earlier in the year, but he thinks this year's team can benefit from last year's win and the experience.
"It's a different team, but yes," Smith said. "We definitely feel like we can use some of the plays we used last year, some of the schemes. ... But since we have kind of a new staff on the offensive side, we're coming in with a new game plan. The confidence is there, we just have to go out and execute."
This year's LSU offense is potent, led again by Heisman Trophy candidate Daniels. But the Aggies are also capable of putting up points. Smith doesn't think the pressure to match the Tigers point-for-point is a bad thing.
"I believe that pressure is a privilege," Smith continued. "The pressure for us to be able to go out and make plays, that just comes with the game. You can't go out and harp on the fact that their offense is good. You just have to go out and play your game and let the scoreboard speak for itself."
Death Valley is a traditionally difficult destination for opposing SEC teams, and Smith says the players feel it.
"Death Valley is definitely one of those places where you have to come in and basically play almost a perfect game in order to win," Smith added. "That place is always rockin', the fans don't like you, and the players always play hard in their home stadium. It's definitely somewhere that's a little bit tougher, for sure."
The Aggies will end their regular season on Saturday and await their bowl game fate.
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