BATON ROUGE, La. -- The finest night of LSU senior quarterback Danny Etling's career may have been the final night of Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin's restive tenure with the Aggies.

Etling ignited a 25-point, second-half rally and completed 19 of 30 passes for a career-high 347 yards and three touchdowns to power No. 18 LSU to a 45-21 victory over Texas A&M Saturday night at Tiger Stadium.

In helping raise LSU's record to 9-3 overall and 6-2 in the SEC -- the first time since 2012 that LSU has won six conference games -- Etling also dealt a severe blow to Sumlin, whose job reportedly is in jeopardy after a fourth consecutive five-loss season.

The Aggies finished 7-5 overall and 4-4 in the SEC, and they have lost seven consecutive games to LSU. Sumlin went 11-2 in 2012, 9-4 in 2013 and then 8-5 in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Sumlin said after the game he was not sure if the next 24 hours -- or even the next "couple of minutes" -- would mark the end of his six seasons as A&M's head coach.

"You work really, really hard and it's a results-oriented profession," Sumlin said. "It's just business as usual for me. I don't have anything scheduled -- a meeting -- (but) it probably could change here in the next couple of minutes or whatever."

Sumlin said he had scheduled a Sunday meeting with coaches to discuss recruiting and had assigned assistant coaches to specific home visits with potential recruits. The Aggies will not know until next Sunday what bowl they will pay in.

Asked if he thought he should be retained, Sumlin said: "I always think I should be retained or I wouldn't be in this job, because I know what goes into it. I know how hard these guys work. A lot of things don't work out, but I wouldn't do this job if I didn't think I would be retained. I wouldn't coach football. So, in my mind, I do my job as best as I can and if you think otherwise, you start doubting who you are, and you have no business."

LSU coach Ed Orgeron can understand the win at all costs pressure of the SEC. When the Tigers lost at home to Troy on Sept. 30, they were 3-2, and a season of high hopes came crashing down. But LSU won six of its last seven games -- losing only to Alabama -- putting the Tigers in position for their first 10-win season since 2013.

"Well, to be honest with you, after the Troy game I couldn't think but one about second at a time," Orgeron said. "I could not look that far (ahead). I knew that we could get the team together and tried to take it one day at a time and get the team right and fix the things we could fix. After looking back at all the things we went through, it's a remarkable feat by the football team and the coaching staff."

With the Aggies stacking their defense against LSU's strong running attack, Etling threw scoring passes of 11 yards to receiver Russell Gage, 10 yards to H-back John David Moore and six yards to receiver D.J. Chark.

Orgeron said Etling is a quiet leader who managed the roller-coaster season with equanimity.

"He's tough, hard-nosed, went through some bumps and bruises just like we all do in life but he fought through it," Orgeron said. "For him to stay with this team and win nine games is remarkable feat for him as a quarterback. Danny doesn't say much. Danny just comes to work and says 'yes, sir.' He never changes."

"LSU is the place I've grown up in football," Etling said.

Leading 20-14 in the third quarter, LSU scored 22 points on its next three possessions, culminating with a 1-yard run by Derrius Guice (127 yards on 28 carries) and Etling's scoring passes to Moore and Chark, to extend the lead to 42-21 with 13:18 left. Darrel Williams added 106 yards rushing, including a 77-yard dash on a wildcat snap to the A&M 6 that led to a 42-21 LSU lead.

A&M got as close as 27-21 on a 10-yard pass from Nick Starkel to Christian Kirk late in the third quarter, but LSU responded with back-to-back touchdowns. Etling completed 13 of 19 passes for a season-high 253 yards in the first half -- his high for the season had been 227 yards against Chattanooga -- but LSU twice bogged down in scoring range and had to settle for field goals, which kept A&M un the game.

Sumlin said he gave it everything he had.

"No matter who you are or what you do, you're able to live with yourself if you leave something better than where it was when you got there," he said. "To watch the change in culture into a national brand. You go to sleep at night knowing you left it better off."

NOTES: A number of former LSU players, including New York Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr., returned to Tiger Stadium and led cheers from the sidelines. ... LSU's defense has allowed 11 combined fourth-quarter points in the last seven games. ... In two games against Texas A&M, Etling has completed 39-of-58 for 671 yards and five touchdowns. ... A&M committed two turnovers on its first five plays on an interception by LSU CB Greedy Williams and a fumble by RB Keith Ford. Both led to LSU field goals.