BATON ROUGE, LA – When Arch Manning tells the story of this night years from now, he wouldn’t mind if his audience loses the memory of his three interceptions.
He’s confident those miscues will fade away from the tale, even as Texas’ 22-21 win at LSU stands the test of time.
“In a bunch of years, I’m going to tell everyone we had a game-winning drive,” a smiling Manning said, “and everyone’s going to forget the three picks.”
Like Archie in 1968 and Eli in 2001, Arch led a comeback victory at Tiger Stadium.
Arch didn’t play well. History might let that fact slip away, but in the raw aftermath of this, let’s get that on record.
LSU is no villain. It's a bust after loss to Texas
LSU kept applying pressure on him, Manning never found a rhythm, and he served up three interceptions while forcing passes into coverage. But, Texas endured, and Manning threw the game-winning touchdown.
Manning entered his postgame news conference wearing a hoodie that said “Whatever it takes” across the front, and, in this one, it took a strong effort from Texas’ defense.
“We can win in multiple ways,” said Texas defensive back Jelani McDonald, who intercepted Sam Leavitt three times.
LSU (6-4) lost in a familiar way: It failed to finish, just as it did in losses to Mississippi, Kentucky and Alabama.
LSU could've secured this victory with even one fourth-quarter score. Instead, it punted four times in the fourth quarter, and the final punt gave Manning one last chance, 58 yards from the goal line.
“I figured it was time to go get it done," Manning said.
Manning completed a short pass on 3rd-and-3 to get the drive rolling. Then, he twice moved the chains with third-down runs. He still needed a completion to win it.
Raleek Brown motioned right, then motioned back to the left, and LSU linebacker Davhon Keys, who was in coverage, was “too late,” as Brown put it.
“I knew it was going to be a touchdown,” Brown said.
Lane Kiffin stared off into the distance, as Texas celebrated.
Lane Kiffin flops in first LSU season
Kiffin’s first LSU season will be remembered as a failure. He hinted at a need for patience, but he already lost to first-year coach Will Stein of Kentucky. Within the Big Ten, Bob Chesney is undefeated in his first season at UCLA after inheriting a tougher situation.
LSU wasn’t that far off in any of its losses, but it stubbornly found ways to lose in all four of its games against its toughest competition.
“We're brought here to win, and we need to win more than that,” Kiffin said. “Now, also, everything isn't built for the first year when you come in somewhere.”
“(Texas has) done a great job building," he added. "… It didn't look like that his first year."
It is here we remind you Brian Kelly inherited a rough roster situation from Ed Orgeron and won 10 games in his first LSU season, when he reached the SEC Championship game.
Kelly lost three games at Tiger Stadium throughout his four seasons. Kiffin lost twice at home this season.
“Obviously,” Kiffin said, “we're disappointed.”
Kiffin curiously lost his deft touch with quarterbacks this year. Leavitt, the transfer quarterback Kiffin acquired, keeps making too many mistakes. His three interceptions influenced this result.
LSU wilts in pressure. Gov. Jeff Landry goes quiet
However this season ends for LSU, it won’t end in the playoff, and it’ll go down as Kiffin’s worst season since his Mississippi Rebels went 8-5 in 2022, while Kiffin was distracted by the Auburn job.
In what could be interpreted as something of a performance review of Kiffin’s first season, the Guv who had a hand in Kiffin’s hiring fired off one tweet Saturday night.
It was about Will Wade’s basketball team. Not a peep from Jeff Landry about Kiffin’s team.
This is the kind of basketball LSU fans deserve.
— Governor Jeff Landry (@LAGovJeffLandry) November 14, 2026
A big road win, a team that refuses to back down, and a program hungry for more.
Congratulations to @Coach_WillWade and @LSUBasketball !
Landry, Louisiana’s carnival-barking governor, inserted himself into last year’s LSU house-cleaning, then installed a puppet regime into the university's leadership positions and participated in Kiffin’s hiring.
Hey, at least the hoops team is 4-0, right, Guv?
Think Vanity Fair will return next spring? Here's an idea for the follow-up magnum opus: How Louisiana’s flagship university blew through so much money for so little in return.
If LSU had poured $50 million into a roster for Kelly, what would the team's record be right now? Almost certainly, no worse than it is. Each of Kelly’s first three seasons finished as good or better than this one will. LSU fired Kelly before he could complete his fourth season.
Kiffin was just a few seconds away from having the pressure lift off his shoulders for one weekend, anyway. Instead, this ended in a familiar nightmare.
Entering the fourth quarter, with LSU leading 21-13, Tiger Stadium swelled with enthusiasm.
The final notes of Garth Brooks’ hit song faded off the loudspeakers, but LSU fans weren’t ready to stop singing.
So, they went a cappella for a few more bars of “Callin’ Baton Rouge.”
The operator was nearly ready to put LSU’s playoff dreams through to next weekend.
And then, in the fourth quarter, LSU’s offense mustered just 22 yards, and the Tigers had 35 yards of penalties.
The LSU defense held, until it didn’t.
Manning struggled, until he won the game, albeit with a massive assist from his defense.
Arch Manning gets 'bragging rights' on LSU
The touchdown toss made for a sweet homecoming for Manning, who played his high school ball in New Orleans. He grew up attending games at Tiger Stadium.
“It means the world” to get this win, Manning said. “I was pointing out to some of my teammates where I sat at these games growing up, so coming back home, getting it done in the last few seconds, it’s a memory I’ll have for the rest of my life.”
Kiffin recruited Manning when he was the Ole Miss coach. Manning chose Texas and Sarkisian. Both quarterback and coach have come under fire at various points this season, but Sark dialed up an excellent play call with the game on the line, and Manning executed to apply a winning touch after those interceptions.
“He’s got a lot of bragging rights now when he comes back home,” Sarkisian said.
Indeed, Manning is looking forward to an offseason visit home.
“I grew up around a lot of LSU fans,” he said, “so it’s going to feel good to come back to Mardi Gras or whenever I come home and not have them talk a bunch of crap.”
Manning can do the talking, and he can leave out the details of his three interceptions.
Just focus on the part where he threw a game-winning touchdown to sink Kiffin’s debut season.
“That’s what it’s all about,” Manning said. “I mean, Death Valley at night, a two-minute drive, let’s go!”
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's senior national college football columnist. Listen to his podcast, "College Football Unfiltered." Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Arch Manning can laugh about those 3 picks. There’s nothing funny about Lane Kiffin’s LSU
