The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly From Texas Longhorns' Thrilling Win Over LSU

Texas escaped Baton Rouge on a Saturday night with its best road win of the season over LSU.

Nov 14, 2026; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) throws a pass during the second quarter against the Louisiana State Tigers at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Texas Longhorns had yet another fourth-quarter comeback victory in Week 11, coming back down 11 to upset the LSU Tigers 22-21 on the final offensive play of the game in the red zone.

Given the severity of quarterback Arch Manning's struggles during the first 50 minutes, it's a miracle UT pulled this off.

More on those struggles later.

Texas will likely stay in the same spot in the CFP committee's rankings at No. 6, while LSU is likely done with these rankings. The Longhorns could've potentially afforded, and may still be able to afford a third loss. The Tigers are now most likely out of the CFP conversation.

Here was the good, bad, and ugly from a massive Texas win on a Baton Rouge Saturday night:

The Good: Texas's Defense Rose to the Occasion When it Mattered

Nov 14, 2026; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive back Jelani McDonald (4) intercepts a pass during the second quarter against the Louisiana State Tigers at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In a close, low-scoring game like this, both sides of the ball played enough of a part to get the job done. Practically the entirety of Will Muschamp's defense was perfectly disruptive, though, giving the offense plenty of chances to strike with good field position.

Safety Jelani McDonald picked off LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt three times, while linebackers Rasheem Biles and Justin Cryer and cornerback Bo Mascoe all registered a sack.

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The game plan was perfect in continuing to keep Charlie Weis Jr.'s offense out of the end zone, for the most part, despite the Tigers' 366 yards of offense. While it took a while to adjust to Leavitt and the passing game, the defense got it together when it mattered most down the stretch.

The Bad: Dilin Jones Exposed the Longhorns' Interior Defensive Line

LSU running back Dilin Jones went for 125 yards on 19 carries, one of them a 44-yard touchdown run. While Biles, Cryer, and the rest of the linebackers played their part, the interior defensive line was quiet in the box score.

Hero Kanu, Alex January, Maraad Watson, Myron Charles, and Justus Terry combined for just four tackles.

With a strong effort from every other level, and Colin Simmons picking up the slack, setting the edge, the interior defensive line got bailed out.

The Ugly: Arch Manning's Turnover Woes Nearly Wrecked Texas

Manning struggled mightily for most of the game, completing just 13 of 27 pass attempts before the game-winning final possession. Having thrown three interceptions, including two in the second half, Manning was about to be the scapegoat before completing six of his final eight passes and engineering the game-winning drive.

Manning's game-winning touchdown pass to Raleek Brown off pre-snap motion was a brilliant Steve Sarkisian call, and the ending was a happy one for the Burnt Orange.

All's well that ends well. Still, Manning needed those closing moments to save himself from an unfathomable media firestorm of negativity for navigating UT to back-to-back three-loss regular seasons.

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