Texas A&M beats LSU in one of the longest games in FBS history
No. 7 LSU thought it had defeated No. 22 Texas A&M three times in the final minute of regulation.
But the game made it to overtime and turned into the craziest game of the year and a heartbreaking loss for Ed Orgeron’s team. A&M eventually prevailed 74-72 in seven overtimes. Yes, seven overtimes.
It ended up being the fifth game to go to 7OT in FBS history, tying a record. It also marked the highest-scoring game in SEC history.
But before those records materialized, there was plenty of drama.
The Tigers held a 31-24 lead when A&M regained possession with 1:23 to go. A&M moved toward midfield, but LSU appeared to have the game wrapped up when A&M quarterback Kellen Mond was intercepted by LSU’s Grant Delpit.
The interception sparked a celebration on the LSU sideline — including a Gatorade bath for Orgeron — but the play was called back because Mond’s knee had touched the turf while retrieving a bad snap well before he threw the pass.
A few plays later, A&M faced fourth-and-18. That’s when controversy looked like it was going to start.
Mond hit Quartney Davis for what was ruled a first down. With time ticking down, the officiating crew moved quickly to spot the ball and move the chains. But it seemed pretty clear on television that Davis was at least a half-yard (if not more) short of the line to gain.
The yellow line is not official, as you can see in the screenshot below. The yard marker is at approximately the 43 of LSU. The yellow line is at about the 41. The two-yard difference made viewers at home think the pass was complete significantly short of the sticks when in fact it was a comfortable first down.
The yellow line is never exact. But it’s rarely that far off, either.
Since the completion was good for a first down and a clock stopped to reset the ball, Mond was able to sprint to the line and spike it, stopping the clock with 10 seconds left.
On the next play, Mond hit Kendrick Rogers for a 22-yard gain to the LSU 19. A&M was out of timeouts and had to sprint to the line again. The clock ticked to zero, but after a review, one second was put on the clock.
That was all Mond needed to force overtime. He hit Davis for a 19-yard score as time expired to somehow keep the game alive.
A&M would not let all of these extra chances go to waste. But it took a long, long time. How long? The game eventually moved all the way to a seventh overtime.
Before that could happen, the fourth extra frame was forced by this insane catch from Rogers.
This is insane Kendrick Rodgers pic.twitter.com/kHC8YtndCx
— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) November 25, 2018
In overtime No. 7, well after the Gatorade on Orgeron’s shirt had dried, LSU scored a touchdown but could not convert its two-point conversion.
On Texas A&M’s try, Mond hit Davis to tie the score. And then, after a pass interference penalty on LSU’s Greedy Williams presented a second try at a two-point conversion, Mond found Rogers for the winning two points.
The win snapped a seven-game losing streak for Texas A&M against LSU.
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