Texas just handled Missouri on the road for its fourth ranked win of the season, and now the Longhorns are shifting their focus to a different set of Tigers. LSU comes into Saturday night officially on CFP life support after a 31-13 loss to Alabama in Baton Rouge, but there’s still enough talent on this roster to make Texas work for everything.
The biggest question with LSU is which version shows up. On offense, the Tigers can look dangerous in a hurry, but they’ve also left plenty on the field.
Sam Leavitt has flashed upside under center, especially in the quick passing game, even with some turnover issues mixed in. His top outlets against Alabama were Jackson Harris, Trey’Dez Green and Eugene “Tre” Wilson III, who combined to catch more than 300 of Leavitt’s 380 passing yards.
The ground game, though, never got going. LSU managed only 77 rushing yards on 33 carries against Alabama, sacks included.
That inconsistency is what makes this offense so tricky to pin down. One week, Leavitt and the playmakers can look like they’re ready to score 40 and take over a game.
The next, they move the ball but stall out in the red zone and hand away possessions with bad turnovers. Texas should have the edge if it keeps LSU from getting comfortable early, but that’s the danger here: if the Tigers find a rhythm, the game can change fast.
The defense is where LSU really loads up. The Tigers are second in the country in Adjusted EPA/play, trailing only Texas, and the front seven is packed with NFL-level talent.
Princewill Umanmielen, Jordan Ross, Malik Blocton and TJ Dottery give this group real juice up front. Whit Weeks missed the Alabama game, but he could be back this weekend after dealing with injury.
That kind of speed and twitch is a problem for any offensive line, and Texas has had its own issues handling that style of pressure this season. If Arch Manning is going to keep rolling, he’ll have to deal with a defense built to disrupt timing.
The secondary may be just as dangerous. Ty Benefield, the Boise State transfer, stands out as one of the most dynamic defenders in the country, and he’s joined by Tamarcus Cooley, PJ Woodland and DJ Pickett, a group the source describes as future NFL talent. That kind of versatility gives Blake Baker more freedom to be aggressive with the pass rush, and it makes this a much tougher test for Texas than the Longhorns have faced since Red River or Tennessee.
LSU enters at 6-3 with losses to Ole Miss, Kentucky and Alabama, and it still doesn’t have a marquee win on the résumé. But the Tigers get a chance to change that in a hurry with Texas and Tennessee coming up. They haven’t shown they can consistently hang with elite teams, though the talent is obvious enough that it could happen at any moment.
Texas is listed as a 3.5-point favorite according to BetMGM, but LSU has enough going for it to make that number feel fragile. The offense has the kind of ceiling that can break a game open, the defense thrives on chaos, and Death Valley at night is still a real factor.
If Texas keeps its recent form and plays a complete game, it can leave with the win. If LSU gets rolling early, this one could tilt in a hurry.
In Other News...
Texas Win Has The SEC Facing An Officiating Debate
The Longhorns 34-20 win over Missouri did more than tighten Texas grip on the SEC race. It also left the league with an officiating debate after a game that featured multiple contested calls, including a disputed fumble ruling involving Arch Manning. For Texas, the result stood as a significant road win, but the conversation afterward quickly shifted from the scoreboard to how the game was handled.
Eli Drinkwitz was careful in his postgame remarks, but Missouris frustration did not stop there. Athletics director Laird Veatch later pushed the SEC to be more transparent about replay decisions, arguing that the lack of clarity only fuels speculation and mistrust. For a conference already under a microscope, the fallout from this one is likely to linger well beyond the final whistle. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Faces Its Biggest Playoff Test Yet At LSU
Texas heads into Week 11 with a chance to back up the progress it has made and show it can handle the kind of stage that tends to separate contenders from pretenders. The Longhorns have been playing better of late, but this trip to LSU brings a different level of scrutiny, with the Tigers offering a defense that has been among the better units in the country and a hostile road environment to match.
For Texas, the stakes are obvious: this is the kind of game that can sharpen its College Football Playoff case or leave it needing to answer more questions down the stretch. LSU has plenty on the line too, which only adds to the weight of the matchup, and the betting buzz around the game reflects how much attention this one is drawing. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Keeps Gaining Ground As Bigger Tests Suddenly Loom
Texas kept its upward climb going with a 34-20 road win at No. 19 Missouri, a result that pushed the Longhorns up two spots to No. 8 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll. It was the third straight week Texas has moved higher in the rankings, and the national picture around it shifted plenty as well, with Georgia taking over the No. 1 spot after Miamis loss to Notre Dame.
The Longhorns also landed at No. 7 in the College Football Playoff committees initial rankings, a sign that both major polls are starting to view them as a legitimate contender. Ohio States tumble after losing to Oregon only added to the shakeup, but Texas will have little time to enjoy the climb with bigger tests now waiting on the schedule and a chance to prove this rise is more than a November surge. [Read more 🡒]