Arch Manning leads No. 8 Texas to a late score and a dramatic 22-21 win over No. 24 LSU
Arch Manning — like his grandfather and uncle before him — has a Death Valley comeback to his name
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Arch Manning — like his grandfather and uncle before him — has a Death Valley comeback to his name.
Manning found Raleek Brown for a 4-yard touchdown pass along the left sideline with 3 seconds left, and No. 8 Texas escaped Tiger Stadium with a 22-21 victory over No. 24 LSU on Saturday night.
“That's what it's all about: Death Valley at night, two-minute drive, let's go,” Manning said.
The dramatic win in the state where Manning was raised — and in a stadium where he attended games as a kid — kept Texas (8-2, 5-2 SEC, No. 6 CFP) firmly in contention for a College Football Playoff spot while virtually eliminating LSU (6-4, 3-4, No. 21 CFP).
“It means the world,” Manning said. “I was pointing out to some of my teammates where I sat at these games growing up. So, just coming back home, getting it done in the last few seconds, it's a memory I'll have for the rest of my life.”
Manning, who also rushed for an early score, was an unspectacular 19-of-35 passing for 174 yards and one touchdown with three interceptions. But he looked made for the moment when Texas began its final drive on its own 42, down 21-16, with 2:19 left.
He converted three third downs — one with a 5-yard pass and two with his legs — to set up his decisive scoring strike into the end zone near where his celebrating parents, Cooper and Ellen, were sitting.
“It hadn’t been great all night; I figured it was time to get it done,” Manning said. “I grew up around a lot of LSU fans. So, it’s going to feel good to come back for Mardi Gras, or come back whenever I come home (to New Orleans), and not have them talk a bunch of crap.”
Before leaving the field for the locker room, Manning found his father, who'd walked down to the front row behind that same end zone, and they embraced.
“My dad is really who I think about when stuff gets hard. I think about just digging deep, and he always tells me to just keep going,” Manning said. “He just said he's really proud. So, I'm going to remember that for the rest of my life."
LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt passed for 244 yards and two touchdowns to Jackson Harris, but like Manning was intercepted three times — all by Texas safety Jelani McDonald.
LSU also will rue a missed 38-yard field goal at the end of the first half, which ended with the Tigers holding a 14-10 lead.
“That’s a really good Texas team, but you can see we have a ways to go to be a dominant team and not play games this close,” LSU first-year coach Lane Kiffin said. "We lost. It doesn’t matter we were 7 seconds from winning.”
In 1968, Manning's grandfather, Archie, led Mississippi to a comeback victory at Tiger Stadium. So did his uncle, Eli, in 2001. For Texas to win, a third generation Manning was going to have to follow suit after LSU running back Dilin Jones' weaving, 44-yard scoring run gave the Tigers a 21-10 lead with 5:52 remaining in the third quarter.
“It feels good to be a part of it,” Manning said when the subject of his family's Tiger Stadium legacy came up.
Field goals of 41 and 50 yards by Gianni Spetic cut LSU’s lead to 21-16. Texas' defense then came up with several curcial stands to give Manning the one more chance he needed to lead the Longhorns to victory.
Manning “has a competitive spirit about him. It was hard and he is tough,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “What a drive at the end of the game to shake all that off. He competed at a real high level tonight against a really good defense. ... What a moment for him.”
The takeaway
Texas: The Longhorns were outgained 366-273, but their defense got stops when needed down the stretch to cap a performance highlighted by three takeaways and three sacks.
LSU: After fading badly in the fourth quarter of their loss to Alabama a week earlier, the Tigers again went quiet on offense in the final period — giving Manning one too many chances. It was also the second straight loss for LSU despite significantly outgaining its opponent. Leavitt, meanwhile, has thrown 12 interceptions in 10 games.
Up next
Texas hosts Arkansas next Saturday.
LSU visits No. 9 Tennessee next Saturday.
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