LSU throttles Texas A&M 54-39

Derrius Guice ran all over Texas A&M on Thursday. (Getty)

As reports emerged directly linking Houston coach Tom Herman to LSU, the Tigers made quite the Thanksgiving statement that interim coach Ed Orgeron should be the man to lead the Tigers in the future.

LSU steamrolled Texas A&M 54-39 Thursday night as the Aggies continued a disturbing trend of November futility.

The loss means Texas A&M finishes the regular season 8-4. Since an 11-2 season — and Heisman-winning campaign for former quarterback Johnny Manziel — in 2012, A&M has gone 31-17 in the regular season.

But that record doesn’t include a winning November in each of the past four seasons. A&M has won 24 games before November from 2013-2016. In those Novembers it has gone 7-9. It’s a troubling trend that A&M seemed equipped to reverse in 2016.

Instead, Texas A&M made the trend worse. The Aggies entered November 7-1 and promptly lost to a Mississippi State team that isn’t heading to a bowl. And then followed that game up with a home loss to an Ole Miss team led by a freshman quarterback making his first career start. If coach Kevin Sumlin couldn’t have gone .500 in this November, it’s fair to wonder if his A&M teams will ever do so.

Things got worse for A&M late in the fourth quarter too. Quarterback Trevor Knight, who started for the first time after injuring a shoulder vs. MSU, suffered an apparent left knee injury and had to be helped off the field.

Meanwhile, LSU’s offense suddenly looked explosive. The Tigers were all out of sorts in a 16-10 home loss to Florida last week. But the A&M defense is clearly no Florida defense. Running back Derrius Guice busted off two 45-yard touchdown runs on the way to 285 yards rushing and four TDs. And quarterback Danny Etling threw for 324 yards and completed nearly 75 percent of his passes.

Guice’s 285 yards eclipsed the single-game rushing record set by injured RB Leonard Fournette (284) earlier in the season vs. Ole Miss. But while Guice got his record with 37 carries, Fournette needed just 16.

Etling’s two touchdown passes were the first he’s thrown since an Oct. 22 win over Ole Miss.

Thanks to a canceled game due to the rescheduling of the Florida game, LSU finishes the season at 7-4 and brings Orgeron’s interim coach record at USC and LSU to a combined 11-4. It’s pretty clear Orgeron is deserving of another head coaching chance. And, if what we learned tonight is accurate, it’s pretty muddy at LSU unless Texas swoops in and signs Herman to a contract.