November 14, 2026Updated November 15, 2026, 1:15 a.m. ET
BATON ROUGE, LA – Arch Manning pointed to the Texas sideline in triumph. He had made so many mistakes throughout that night, but he couldn’t think of any of them right now.
Not after throwing a game-winning touchdown to Raleek Brown.
As Manning celebrated, Lane Kiffin stood with his hands on his hips and looked toward the opposite end of the court.
It’s official. Kiffin’s first season was a huge failure, as his team’s only reliable trait was its inability to finish games.
LSU is out of the playoff race, with two games remaining.
So much hype, so much money spent, so little results.
LSU led for most of the game, but when the clock hit triple zeroes, the score read this:
Texas 22, LSU 21.
“We talked about having the chance to end someone else’s dream,” Manning said afterward, “and I like to focus on us, but it feels good.”
Not really a dream season for LSU (6-4). Just a familiar nightmare.
Kiffin’s first season on the bayou will end with an irrelevant bowl game.
He will finish with fewer wins than Brian Kelly had in his first LSU season.
“We lost,” Kiffin said. “It doesn’t matter that (LSU is) seconds away from winning.”
Texas won despite Manning’s three interceptions, despite LSU putting the Texas quarterback in a blender most of the night.
For what?
Because LSU can’t handle fourth quarter pressures.
Not against Mississippi. Not against Kentucky. Not against Alabama. And not against Texas despite leading all of the last three seconds of the second half.
Kiffin really wanted to bring a scary LSU supervillain into existence, but the Tigers never seemed intimidating enough to deserve that label. Why should we fear the Kiffin Tigers?
LSU and Kiffin are Charlie Brown. Lucy took the ball away. Again.
Texas survives LSU
The Tigers enter the final two weeks of the season without a single signature win on Kiffin’s first-season resume, and we can stop pretending LSU is a playoff team.
Two of the most expensive teams in the country held a competition to see how many turnovers they could muster between them.
LSU needed a score in the fourth quarter to pull out a victory that would have extended its playoff hopes. Instead, each of his four fourth-quarter drives ended the same way.
Punt. Punt. Punt. Punt.
Texas (8-2) had three fourth-quarter punts and then a 58-yard drive to win it.
“We play all four quarters,” Texas defensive end Colin Simmons said.
What does the Guv have to say about this one?
Not much. He starts tweeting about Will Wade’s basketball team.
Even though Manning played for much of the game, LSU struggled to fully capitalize because Sam Leavitt matched Manning’s three interceptions with three of his own, and LSU squandered a few opportunities in the red zone.
In fact, LSU lost a season.
A $13 million coach, a $50 million team and not a single substantial win to show for it.
Kiffin is not a big game coach and LSU is not a cutthroat villain. He’s just a meek anti-hero who can’t resist any pressure.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s lead national college football columnist. Listen to his podcast “College Football Unfiltered.” Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on @btopppmeyer.
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