Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning had a rough night for most of Saturday’s game against the LSU Tigers, throwing three interceptions in front of a hostile crowd at Tiger Stadium. But when it mattered most, Manning delivered a moment that his family knows pretty well.
With three seconds left, Manning hit Raleek Brown for a 4-yard touchdown pass to give No. 6 Texas a 22-21 win over No. 21 LSU. After the game, the New Orleans native admitted that the win meant a lot to him, especially since it means LSU fans back home can’t “talk a bunch of crap.”
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Manning’s Bumpy Season
It hasn’t been the smoothest year for Manning and the Longhorns. Texas dropped back-to-back games to Oklahoma and Florida in October, and Manning’s play drew plenty of criticism along the way.
Things got so bad that there was even speculation about whether Manning would be back at Texas next season. NFL scouts also appeared to sour on him as a potential top pick.
But the Longhorns have bounced back since then, beating Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Missouri heading into Saturday’s trip to Baton Rouge. The win over LSU extended that streak to four games and improved Texas to 8-2 overall and 5-2 in SEC play.
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Saturday wasn’t a pretty performance from Manning, either. He finished just 19 of 35 through the air for 174 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions, and he also ran for an early score.
‘Coming Back Home’
LSU took a 21-10 lead on a 44-yard touchdown run by Dilin Jones late in the third quarter. A pair of field goals from Gianni Spetic cut the lead to 21-16, and Texas got the ball back on its own 42-yard line with 2:19 left.
Manning converted three third downs on the final drive, two of them with his legs, before finding Brown in the end zone. That end zone just so happened to be near where his parents, Cooper and Ellen, were sitting.
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“That’s what it’s all about: Death Valley at night, two-minute drive, let’s go,” Manning said, via the Associated Press.
Manning grew up in New Orleans and went to games at Tiger Stadium as a kid, so the win clearly meant a little bit more.
“It means the world,” Manning said. “I was pointing out to some of my teammates where I sat at these games growing up. So just coming back home, getting it done in the last few seconds, it’s a memory I’ll have for the rest of my life.”
He also had a message for the LSU fans in his life.
“It hadn’t been great all night. I figured it was time to get it done,” Manning said. “I grew up around a lot of LSU fans. So it’s going to feel good to come back for Mardi Gras, or come back whenever I come home [to New Orleans], and not have them talk a bunch of crap.”
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Before heading to the locker room, Manning found his father in the front row behind the end zone, and the two shared a hug.
“My dad is really who I think about when stuff gets hard. I think about just digging deep, and he always tells me to just keep going,” Manning said. “He just said he’s really proud. So I’m going to remember that for the rest of my life.”
The comeback also added another chapter to the Manning family’s history in Death Valley. Arch’s grandfather, Archie, led Ole Miss to a comeback win at Tiger Stadium in 1968, and his uncle, Eli, did the same in 2001.
Needless to say, Manning will have some bragging rights the next time he heads home to New Orleans.
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The post ‘It hadn’t been great all night. I figured it was time to get it done’: Arch Manning sends a message after LSU win appeared first on The Comeback: Today’s Top Sports Stories & Reactions.
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