In Week 9’s most anticipated matchup, Mike Elko’s No. 3-ranked Texas A&M Aggies traveled all the way to Baton Rouge with a perfect 7-0 record to handle business against Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers. The Tigers, sitting at 5-2, are on the verge of seeing their playoff hopes crushed. Brian Kelly needs to pull a rabbit out of the hat to cool down his hot seat. With both rosters stacked with talent, it’s no surprise NFL programs sent their top scouts to watch closely. Word on the street: the Cleveland Browns are in the building to keep tabs on a $3.9 million QB — potentially making Shedeur Sanders’ future in Cleveland a little more complicated than it is now.

On October 26, college football insider and Texas A&M beat writer Cartel Karels hopped onto X and spilled the tea: “Representatives from 12 NFL teams are listed on the Tiger Stadium press box seating chart: Cardinals, Bills, Panthers, Browns, Broncos, Colts, Raiders, Chargers, Patriots, Saints, Giants, Commanders.” Looks like a bunch of NFL teams, 12 to be exact, sent their talent spotters to check out the college players. It was a massive opportunity for players hoping to make the leap to the big leagues to show what they’ve got under the bright Saturday night lights.

The main attraction for a lot of those scouts was LSU’s $3.9 million man, Garrett Nussmeier. The son of an offensive coordinator, Nussmeier has been on the radar for a while, even though he had a bit of a bumpy ride this season. Heading into the game, he had already thrown for 1,638 yards and 11 touchdowns but also had five interceptions. Scouts were eager to see how he’d hold up against a tough Texas A&M defense ranked second in the FBS in third-down conversion rate allowed.

The Cleveland Browns, meanwhile, could be in the quarterback market again despite drafting Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. So far, neither has stood out — Gabriel’s posted average backup-level stats with 545 yards and three touchdowns over five games, while Sanders hasn’t even taken practice reps with the starters. That’s why all eyes and ears were locked on Nussmeier to see if he could make a case for himself. Apart from the obvious, the Aggies got potential first-rounders too.

The Texas A&M offense also had some exciting players to watch, especially their dynamic wide receiver duo, Mario Craver and KC Concepcion. Craver was the SEC’s top pass-catcher with 674 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Concepcion wasn’t far behind, coming into the game with 500 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Scouts wanted to see how these playmakers would stack up against LSU’s secondary standouts like Mansoor Delane and AJ Haulcy. The Tigers are pulling out all kinds of changes to put themselves in a position to win.

The LSU Tigers are making big-time changes against the Texas A&M

The No. 20th-ranked LSU Tigers made a big change at running back this week. According to LSU insider Matt Moscona, five-star freshman Harlem Berry will start on Saturday night against Texas A&M. Berry will take over for sophomore Caden Durham, who has been the Tigers’ main back all season but hasn’t looked the same since suffering an ankle injury earlier in this season.

LSU’s rushing attack has been pretty bad, ranking somewhere near the bottom of the SEC, and the coaching staff is hoping Berry’s betting on Harlem’s potential to keep them in the playoff contention. Berry showed some of his elite RB potential in last week’s game against Vanderbilt, rushing 11 times for 55 yards and giving LSU some much-needed balance, which they haven’t had since 2021.

Earlier in the year, he was still adjusting to the physicality of college football, but now he’s becoming a key player for Brian Kelly’s offense. Kelly mentioned earlier this season that Berry just needed time to adapt to the toughness of the SEC, and it seems like that time has come. LSU insider Shea Dixon gave props to Berry.

He pointed out that Berry made the most of his 18 snaps against Vanderbilt, showing great patience and vision on every carry. While Durham still has big-play potential, Berry’s consistency and his ability to gain yards even on tough plays make him a more reliable option right now than Caden. With LSU fighting to stay alive in the SEC race, expect the true freshman to get plenty of touches in Death Valley this game.