The Texas A&M football team picked up a massive home win against LSU on Saturday, and the Aggies are now all alone in first place in the SEC. Not everything went smoothly for Texas A&M in the game, as they were down by double digits heading into the second half, and they even had to bench quarterback Conner Weigman for Marcel Reed. Weigman struggled in this one, and Reed ended up playing a great game.

Conner Weigman and Marcel Reed have both had their moments this year for the Texas A&M football team. Weigman was the starter when the year began, but Reed took over when Weigman went down with an injury. When Weigman came back from injury, he played great in a huge win over then-undefeated Missouri. However, he struggled against LSU.

Weigman was 6/18 for 64 yards on Saturday night, and the Texas A&M offense couldn't get anything going. Aggies head coach Mike Elko thought that it was best for him to sit out.

“He took it great,” Mike Elko said of Weigman, according to an article from On3. “I just told him, I said, ‘It’s not you. This is not on you. I’m gonna tell everybody it’s not on you.’ We let him down. We all did. But we needed a spark, and we were just at a point where we had to try something different.”

The Aggies went to Marcel Reed after benching Conner Weigman, and it worked. Reed only threw the ball twice, but he was 2/2 for 70 yards. He carried the ball nine times, however, and he racked up 62 yards and scored three touchdowns with his legs.

“We felt like, if nothing else, Marcel’s athleticism would give us a different variable that they probably hadn’t spent a ton of time preparing for,” Elko added. “So, that’s what we did, and it worked for us.”

It worked, indeed. The second half was a completely different game as Texas A&M outscored the Tigers 31-6, and they went on to win the game 38-23.

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Mike Elko has a lot of praise for Marcel Reed

Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed (10) runs the ball in the fourth quarter against the LSU Tigers at Kyle Field.
© Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Marcel Reed has stayed ready for any opportunity that might come his way this year. With the injury to Conner Weigman earlier in the season and the situation on Saturday night, those opportunities have been there, and Reed has taken advantage. Elko is very happy with what he has seen.

“He works his tail off,” Elko said. “He never backed away. We needed him early, he came, he was ready. When we went back to Conner, he stayed ready. We felt like, the way the game was going, we needed him tonight, and he was still ready. He’s a great kid, he’s a great competitor, he won us the football game tonight.”

Now, Texas A&M has a terrific chance of making the College Football Playoff and going to the SEC title game, as they are 7-1 overall and 5-0 in SEC play. The Aggies are also now ranked #10 in the country.

Texas A&M will return to action this upcoming weekend with a tricky road matchup against South Carolina. The Aggies and Gamecocks will kick off at 7:30 ET on Saturday night from Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, and the game will be airing on ABC. Texas A&M is currently favored by 2.5 points.