Kiffin laments loss to Texas as LSU's playoff hopes dashed: 'We need to win more'

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  Alex ScarboroughNov 15, 2026, 01:15 AM ET

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  • Covers the SEC.
  • Joined ESPN in 2012.
  • Graduate of Auburn University.

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Down 5 points with 6 seconds left, Texas quarterback Arch Manning motioned running back Raleek Brown out wide. By the time LSU linebacker Davhon Keys realized what was happening and he sprinted out to cover Brown, it was too late. Manning quickly swung the pass out to Brown, who caught it in stride and ran 4 yards into the end zone, untouched, to deliver the Longhorns a come-from-behind win, 22-21, at Tiger Stadium.

It was a comeback Manning said he'll tell stories about for years to come. It kept Texas' playoff hopes alive.

For Keys and LSU, it was a nightmare they'd like to forget as soon as possible - another late-game letdown a week after it let a lead over Alabama slip away. But this time the loss will stick as falling to 6-4 on the season all but guarantees the Tigers will be left out of the playoff.

LSU coach Lane Kiffin said there were plenty of opportunities to win the game. A missed field goal and three interceptions, including two picks in the red zone, were ultimately his team's undoing.

The Tigers spent big this offseason, first firing coach Brian Kelly and taking on a $54 million buyout. Then it hired Kiffin away from Ole Miss, signing him to a seven-year, $91 million deal. And then it armed Kiffin with a large, high-priced transfer class that included star signees such as quarterback Sam Leavitt, left tackle Jordan Seaton and edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen.

"Fair question," Kiffin said when asked to evaluate the season based on the level of investment and the expectations to win right away.

"I get it," he added. "Under performance, doesn't matter if the game's been close or they go down to the last whatever, six seconds. We were brought here to win, and we need to win more than that.

"Now, also everything isn't built for the first year when you come in somewhere, and I would tell you that if we were undefeated right now. You build things and they take a little bit of time."

Kiffin pointed to Texas.

"Those guys, watch warmups," he said. "Those guys have done a great job building that team - size, with backups, special teams players. It didn't look like that [Steve Sarkisian's] first year."

Kiffin said he felt their lack of depth showed up particularly on special teams where they struggled with field position and missed the only field goal attempt of the night.

"Really disappointing to be up two scores in the game and not be able to close it out," he said. "Plenty of opportunities."

LSU was ahead, 21-10, with 5:52 left in the third quarter. It punted on its final four possessions - its longest streak of the season - including going three-and-out three times.

Texas kicked two field goals and threw a touchdown to win the game.

According to ESPN Research, Saturday marked LSU's first home loss when ahead by double-digits in the second half since 2005 vs Tennessee. Entering the weekend, LSU had won 111 consecutive home games when up double-digits in the second half.

"Poor decisions" is how he described Leavitt's three interceptions.

It wasn't a "psychological" issue that led to miscues like Keys not getting out to cover Brown, Kiffin said, but rather "just really poor execution."

"There are a lot of areas of the game and say we outplayed them to win the game," he said. "But again, that's not how it works. It doesn't work that way. And so just disappointed for our players, our fans, that game comes down to one play and all the hard plays through the game, man, we just don't run out and cover the guy and make the play really easy and they walk in the end zone."

Asked what he'd tell the fanbase, he said, "I'd be pissed too. We lost. It doesn't really matter that it was whatever, 7 seconds from winning."

But Kiffin said he wouldn't "overreact" to the loss. If a few plays went differently, he said the tone of his post-game news conference would have been totally different.

"I get why the questions come," he said, "but I also know that one play difference and then none of these questions happen. So that's part of understanding coaching and how it works."

As far as the future, Kiffin left no ambiguity when asked whether he felt the "foundational" pieces were in place to win in the future.

"I'm not concerned about that at all," he said. "I'm concerned that we lost. I'm not concerned about the future. I said it weeks before when we were winning, that we'll have better rosters. And that's no poor reflection upon these players. We just will. We will have been here. We'll have built depth. We won't have senior days with two scholarship players."

LSU will close out the regular season on the road - at No. 8 Tennessee next Saturday and at Arkansas the following Saturday.

"Same as before," Kiffin said of the focus moving forward without hope of reaching the playoff. "We didn't prepare any different. We got to go back to work and find ways to perform better and execute better and help the players play the best they can."