Arch Manning had barely finished celebrating his first touchdown at Tiger Stadium when fans threw alcohol at him from the stands. Cameras caught the moment as the Texas quarterback turned toward the LSU crowd. It was already a hostile homecoming for the Louisiana native, with Texas (7-2) and LSU (6-3) both trying to stay alive in the playoff race. Manning has spent weeks trying to prove that he could play in his own right rather than just be known for his last name, and the first half of the LSU game didn’t make that easier.
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SportsCenter’s X post showed video of Manning seemingly getting splashed by a drink or two. The cameras never caught who threw it, as it came after the 1-yard bootleg that capped an 11-play, 75-yard opening drive – a series where three LSU penalties kept the Longhorns moving.
The score put Texas up 7-0 with about 10:30 left in the first quarter. Manning celebrated a little, and a Death Valley student section took it personally. Manning was born in New Orleans, played at Isidore Newman and went to games at Tiger Stadium as a kid. He said the homecoming doesn’t mean much.
“I really don’t have any legacy; I have no family that went to LSU,” Manning said. “It’s not about me at all this week.”
The stakes explain the noise. Texas has beaten Ohio State, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Missouri, and it has losses to Oklahoma and Florida. The Longhorns climbed back to No. 6 in the CFP rankings on a three-game win streak. By one projection, a win here puts Texas playoff odds around 96%, and a loss drops them to around 60. LSU is 0-3 against ranked teams. After a 31-13 loss to Alabama last week, the Tigers needed this game to keep any playoff talk alive.
Texas also had to survive the trip. The FAA ground stop kept the team grounded in Austin on Friday, and the Longhorns didn’t reach their Baton Rouge hotel until after midnight. Steve Sarkisian had no concerns about how Manning would handle the setting.
“I don’t think he gives a crap,” Sarkisian said. “The legacy stuff is a byproduct of doing what he gets to do. I just don’t think that he gives that much time, energy, effort (and) thought to it.”
Sarkisian has praised this team’s “road warrior” mentality. Manning had been rolling before the game, completing 75.9 percent of his passes for six touchdowns and no interceptions in his last two games, including 297 yards and three scores at Missouri. He’s also 19-5 as a starter. But LSU has 36 sacks, and Texas has allowed 27, so the pass rush was always going to be the problem.
Manning went 3-of-9 for 31 yards in the first quarter against LSU. In the second, he threw an interception to Ty Benefield on a deep ball, three plays after Texas got the ball back, and LSU cashed in with a Sam Leavitt touchdown pass to Jackson Harris for a 14-7 lead. A field goal made it 14-10.
Texas leads the all-time series 9-8-1, and this was the first meeting between the two as SEC teams. LSU won the last one 45-38 in 2019. The Longhorns hadn’t been to Tiger Stadium since 1953.
After taking an early lead, Texas struggled to find its rhythm as LSU capitalized on a costly interception to move ahead. With their playoff hopes hanging in the balance, the Longhorns now needed Manning to respond under pressure rather than let the hostile atmosphere dictate the night.