Arch Manning proved Saturday night it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.
The Texas Longhorns quarterback led the offense on a 12-play, 58-yard drive and found Raleek Brown for a 4-yard touchdown pass to leave Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with a 22-21 victory.
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It was Manning’s only touchdown pass of the night. He was 19-of-35 with 174 passing yards and three interceptions. He scored a rushing touchdown in the first quarter but the Longhorns went into halftime 14-10 and the deficit seemed to be insurmountable.
Manning and LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt traded interceptions in the third quarter. Tigers running back Dillon Jones then sprinted to a 44-yard touchdown on LSU’s next possession. He finished with 125 yards on the ground and the score put the Tigers up 21-10 with 5:52 left in the quarter.
Four punts, including one after a Manning interception, in the fourth quarter ultimately doomed the Tigers. The lack of offense put the Tigers into a bad position. The fourth punt proved to be enormously consequential as Grant Chadwick gave Texas the ball back at its own 42-yard line.
Manning eventually put the Longhorns on his back and drove down the field to give Texas the win.
The Longhorns now move to 8-2 on the season and their College Football Playoff spot is looking better than ever.
Lane Kiffin’s Tigers fall to 6-4 and are all but officially out of playoff contention after spending all of that money on recruiting to field a team this season.