LSU falls, 74-72, to Texas A&M in FBS record-setting, 7OT heartbreaker
An overturned call late in the fourth quarter negated an apparent game-sealing interception by LSU to allow an eventual Texas A&M touchdown as regulation expired.
The No. 7 Tigers (9-3, 5-3) survived that swell of Aggies’ momentum and continued to battle before falling short, 74-72, to the No. 22 Aggies (8-4, 5-3) in the highest scoring game in FBS history and fifth seven-overtime game in history.
LSU quarterback Joe Burrow started the final period with a 10-yard touchdown run for a 72-66 advantage.
But the Tigers failed to add the two-point conversion, and home-standing Texas A&M took advantage.
Sophomore quarterback Kellen Mond found Quartney Davis for a 17-yard touchdown to tie the game, then Kendrick Rogers for the game-winning two-point conversion.
The victory is the Aggies’ first against LSU since joining the conference in 2012.
A Grant Delpit interception in the final minutes of regulation appeared to preserve a 31-24 victory for the Tigers at the time.
But referees ruled Mond’s knee down before the throw, allotting the Aggies another opportunity the sophomore quarterback would convert for a game-tying 19-yard touchdown to Davis.
Texas A&M had built a 17-7 lead in the first half behind its rushing attack and LSU’s early offensive struggles.
The Aggies struck first with a 10-play, 95-yard drive, capped by a 10-yard Trayveon Williams touchdown.
LSU responded with a 12-play, 75-yard effort which quarterback Joe Burrow cashed in on a 22-yard run to the end zone, but couldn’t score again until the final seconds of the half.
Texas A&M meanwhile scored on each of its next two drives — turning a 10-yard connection from Mond to tight end Jace Sternberger and 33-yard field goal by Seth Small into a 17-7 lead.
The Tigers broke through again for a 47-yard Cole Tracy field goal before the midway mark, stopped the Aggies to open the third quarter and tied the game on their next possession.
Burrow and company marched 90 yards in 15 plays to draw back even for the first time on an acrobatic 7-yard touchdown catch by sophomore receiver Justin Jefferson.
Texas A&M capitalized on a muffed punt to turn a 29-yard field into a 1-yard Williams run and 24-17 lead.
But the Tigers’ defense and offense each answered.
Devin White stripped a Texas A&M ball-carrier to help spark the first of the LSU’s two rapid-fire scores.
Fellow junior linebacker Michael Divinity Jr. scooped the ball from the turf and dashed 58 yards to the end zone, surrounded by a convoy of teammates.
Texas A&M moved 1-yard backward on their next three plays and punted back to the Tigers.
And Burrow and company rolled 76 yards down the field on the next four plays to a 14-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Foster Moreau.
The Tigers appeared to put an end to the Aggies’ own late comeback attempt before referees overturned Delpit’s interception
Instead, Mond, Davis and company extended the drama.
The teams traded field goals in the first overtime period — 50 yards by Tracy and 23 by Small — and 3-yard touchdown runs in the second — by Mond and LSU senior running back Nicholas Brossette.
LSU struck first in the third overtime, as Burrow hit junior receiver Dee Anderson for a 25-yard touchdown and added a two-point conversion to Jefferson.
But, again, Texas A&M answered with a pair of completions from Mond to Rogers to send the contest to a fourth extra period, 49-49.
Tracy and Small traded field goals again to keep the game knotted at 52-52.
LSU offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger drew up a halfback pass to start the fifth overtime.
And Clyde Edwards-Helaire found fullback Tory Carter on a well-executed play for a 58-52 advantage.
Mond and Rogers answered with a 6-yard connection to draw back even at 58-58, then found Sternberger for a 25-yard touchdown to start the sixth overtime and Rogers again for a subsequent two-point conversion.
Burrow ran for a 4-yard touchdown, then found Anderson for the game-tying conversion.
But the Tigers couldn’t quite match the Aggies in the seventh extra period.