Texas pulled off a jaw-dropping 22-21 comeback win over LSU on Saturday, a result that dramatically shakes up the College Football Playoff picture, virtually eliminating the Tigers from contention and giving the Longhorns a clear path to a playoff spot. This is HUGE news for the SEC, which was already projected to set a new league record with five bids in the final year of the 12-team CFP.
That Insane Texas-LSU Showdown
Let’s just say, neither quarterback was lighting it up in this SEC prime-time game. Arch Manning and Sam Leavitt combined for six interceptions, three for each guy. Seriously, three apiece! Despite the turnover fest, Lane Kiffin’s LSU squad somehow took a 14-10 lead into halftime, fueled by an early touchdown drive and then another Leavitt touchdown pass right after Ty Benefield picked off Manning and returned it deep into the red zone.
Even with Leavitt tossing his third pick and a missed field goal before the break, the Tigers’ defense was doing work, holding onto that lead deep into the second half. Dilin Jones even broke free for a 44-yard touchdown run in the third quarter for LSU. Texas, meanwhile, could only manage field goals as Manning just kept struggling with the ball. But you know how it goes in college football, sometimes all you need is one last shot. Trailing 21-16, Manning got the ball before the two-minute mark. What happened next was pure drama: he led Texas on a clutch 12-play, game-winning drive that ended with Raleek Brown sprinting into the left corner of the end zone. Talk about clutch.
The SEC Playoff Race Heats Up
This Texas win is a massive swing for the SEC, which is absolutely loaded this year. The conference is set up for more dominance in the playoff, with a decent chance that even a three-loss team could sneak into the bracket. The Longhorns are now 8-2 overall and 5-2 in conference play, sitting at No. 6 in the rankings. LSU, now 6-4 overall and 3-4 in the SEC, can basically kiss their playoff hopes goodbye after that crushing loss.
Let’s look at the rest of the SEC picture. No. 1 Georgia, at 9-1 and 7-1, just handled No. 22 Missouri 48-21. You can pretty much pencil Kirby Smart’s squad into the bracket, probably as the No. 1 seed. They’ve got enough strong wins that even if they don’t win the SEC title, they’re likely in, assuming they don’t totally collapse against South Carolina or Georgia Tech. No. 3 Alabama, 8-2 overall and 6-2 in the SEC, beat Vanderbilt 21-6 and remains in a rock-sol position. Other teams saw some action too: No. 8 Tennessee beat Texas A&M 22-7, while No. 11 Kentucky lost 21-14 to Florida and No. 17 South Carolina got thumped 34-6 by Arkansas. Ole Miss’s game against Oklahoma was moved to Sunday, so we are still waiting to see how they perform. The SEC is just absolutely wild this season, and this Texas comeback has only cranked up the stakes even higher.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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