No. 6 Texas beat No. 21 LSU 22-21 on Saturday night at Tiger Stadium, and the Texas stuns LSU Arch Manning finish came on a 4-yard touchdown pass to Raleek Brown in the final seconds. Manning took over at his own 42 with 2:19 left and led a 12-play, 58-yard drive that ended with the score and kept the Longhorns in the College Football Playoff race.
Manning finished 19 of 35 for 174 yards with one touchdown pass and three interceptions. He also ran for a 1-yard touchdown on the opening drive. The winning throw was his only touchdown pass of the night, and it came after a game in which LSU had picked him off three times.
Texas stuns LSU Arch Manning drive in the final minutes
Texas trailed 21-16 when it got the ball back, and the Texas stuns LSU Arch Manning drive started after a punt gave the Longhorns the ball with time to work. Manning went 7 of 9 for 51 yards on the final drive. He scrambled for seven yards on third-and-five to reach the LSU 4 with nine seconds left. An incompletion left six seconds on the clock. Manning then found Brown in the left flat, and the running back beat the defense to the front pylon for the score. The two-point try failed, and the 22-21 lead held.
The drive capped a second-half rally from an 11-point deficit. Texas had cut the gap with two field goals from Gianni Spetic, including a 50-yarder early in the fourth quarter that made it 21-16 with 11:37 to play. LSU had led 21-13 late in the third quarter after Dilin Jones broke a 44-yard touchdown run down the sideline.
Texas stuns LSU Arch Manning after three interceptions
Manning threw three interceptions before Texas stuns LSU Arch Manning turned on the final drive, and each one gave LSU a short field. Ty Benefield picked him off twice. The first return reached the Texas 7 and set up Sam Leavitt’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Harris. DJ Pickett grabbed the third interception in the fourth quarter, with Texas trailing 21-16 and Manning under pressure from Dominick McKinley.
The Texas stuns LSU Arch Manning result owed as much to the defense as to the final drive. Jelani McDonald intercepted Leavitt three times, and the Longhorns held LSU scoreless over the final 21 minutes. LSU had tied the game 7-7 in the first quarter and took the lead in the second half before the Texas rally.
Manning opened the scoring with a 1-yard run to finish an 11-play, 75-yard drive on the first possession, and the teams traded scores before Texas stuns LSU Arch Manning took shape in the fourth quarter. LSU answered the opening score when Leavitt hit Harris for the tying touchdown. The Tigers moved in front after halftime, and Jones gave them a 21-13 lead before Texas answered with field goals.
After the final whistle, Manning walked to the stands at Tiger Stadium, where his father, Cooper Manning, waited to greet him. Manning grew up in New Orleans, and the game was a return to his home state. Former Texas linebacker Emmanuel Acho said after the game that the defense deserved as much credit as the offense for the win.
What the result means for both teams
Texas improved to 8-2 overall and 5-2 in Southeastern Conference play with its fourth straight win. It was the fifth win over a ranked team this season for the Longhorns, and the first Texas win in Baton Rouge since 1952. Texas stuns LSU Arch Manning kept the Longhorns in the playoff race, and Texas returns home to face Arkansas on Saturday, Nov. 21, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin.
LSU fell to 6-4 overall and 3-4 in the conference in Lane Kiffin’s first season as head coach. Texas stuns LSU Arch Manning ended the Tigers’ hopes of reaching the College Football Playoff, and it was the third game this season LSU has lost in the final minute. LSU plays at Tennessee next Saturday.