Manning Connects with Brown in Final Seconds as No. 6 Texas Stuns No. 21 LSU

BATON ROUGE, La. — Texas once again saved its best for last.

The No. 6 Longhorns erased an 11-point second-half deficit and stunned No. 21 LSU 22-21 on Saturday night at Tiger Stadium, scoring the winning touchdown when Arch Manning found Raleek Brown for a 4-yard pass with three seconds remaining.

Brown, coming in motion to the left, caught the pass in stride and beat the LSU defense to the front pylon of the end zone, silencing the crowd at Death Valley.

Texas (8-2, 5-2 SEC) won its fourth consecutive game and effectively ended the College Football Playoff hopes of LSU (6-4, 3-4).

The Longhorns drove 58 yards in 12 plays after forcing an LSU punt with a little more than two minutes left. It was Texas’ first game in Baton Rouge since 1953.

LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt threw two touchdown passes to Jackson Harris, and Dilin Jones broke off a 44-yard scoring run in the third quarter that appeared to put the Tigers in control.

Instead, Texas has nearly assured itself of a CFP spot with a fifth win over a ranked team. Manning ran for a touchdown and threw for 174 yards, earning his ninth career win over a ranked opponent in 11 attempts.

The Longhorns scored on their opening possession but were limited to three field goals by automatic kicker Gianni Spetic the rest of the game. His third of the night, a 50-yarder, brought Texas within five with 11:37 to play.

Texas dodged a serious bullet late in the first half when LSU went conservative and declined to throw downfield, eschewing a potential touchdown and a 21-10 lead as Lane Kiffin played it safe. After Leavitt threw three safe passes at the line of scrimmage, Scott Starzyk pushed a 38-yard field-goal attempt wide right.

LSU also received the second-half kickoff, further making Kiffin’s strategy confusing. When Leavitt’s third-down pass gained zero yards, it marked the first time Texas had stopped the Tigers on third down all night. LSU had converted its first five tries and appeared positioned for a potential knockout blow with a promising drive after linebacker Brad Spence was called for roughing the passer on what would have been a third-down incompletion.

For the most part, LSU looked like the more explosive team. Leavitt connected with Harris twice for scores — on a 10-yard slant pass on the home team’s opening possession and a 9-yard score after LSU safety Ty Benefield intercepted a Manning pass and returned it to the Texas 7-yard line. It was the junior quarterback’s eighth interception but first in his past three games.

The Longhorns came out strong as well, driving 75 yards in 11 plays on their first series of the night, with Manning running it in from the 1 for his third rushing touchdown in the last three games.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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