Sam Leavitt passed for 312 yards and two touchdowns, with Jackson Harris on the receiving end for 163 yards and both scores, and No. 10 LSU whipped No. 23 Texas A&M 35-6 on Saturday night in Baton Rouge, La.
Leavitt injured his left calf during the first half and kept playing while hobbled and completed 17 of 23 passes with one interception, connecting with Winston Watkins Jr. five times for 107 yards for the Tigers (3-1, 1-1 SEC).
Landen Clark relieved Leavitt at times in the second half and ran for two short touchdowns as LSU bounced back from a 32-24 loss at then-No. 8 Ole Miss last Saturday.
Marcel Reed completed 10 of 26 passes for 106 yards with an interception for the Aggies (2-2, 0-2), who were outscored 21-3 in the third quarter after being outscored 21-0 in the third quarter of a 31-21 loss to visiting Kentucky a week earlier.
LSU forced a three-and-out on the first possession of the third quarter, and on its first possession, went for it on fourth-and-1 at its 43 and Leavitt threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Harris to expand the lead to 21-3.
Texas A&M followed suit by going for fourth-and-1 at its own 34 on the ensuing possession, but Carsyn Baker was stopped for no gain.
Leavitt completed three passes for 31 yards before Clark replaced him and ran 4 yards for a touchdown and a 28-3 lead.
On LSU’s next possession, Marcus Ratcliffe intercepted Leavitt at the Tigers’ 40, leading to David Olano’s 53-yard field goal.
Leavitt threw three completions for 60 yards to set up Clark’s 2-yard touchdown run that expanded the lead to 35-6 at the end of the third quarter.
LSU’s second possession of the game ended with Dilin Jones’ 1-yard scoring run that gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Texas A&M drove to a first-and-goal at the LSU 7 midway through the second quarter, but stalled and Olano kicked a 24-yard field goal to trim the lead to 7-3.
Leavitt threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Harris to give the Tigers a 14-3 lead at halftime.
