Texas hasn't set foot inside Tiger Stadium since 1953 — Lane Kiffin's brand-new LSU team gets to be the one that finally ends the drought.
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TEXLSU
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Best BetTexas
Texas brings back the far more proven equation here — Manning finished 2025 playing the best football of his career, and Sarkisian retained roughly 68% of a 10-win roster. LSU is asking a transfer quarterback and 59 new players to be playoff-ready by mid-November under a first-year staff, which is a lot to bank on for a moneyline play.
Texas
+Manning threw 11 TD, 1 INT over final 5 games of 2025
+Returns ~68% production, No. 3 transfer class added
−Missed the CFP at 10-3, offense stalled late in games
−Manning limited all spring by offseason foot surgery
LSU
+Lane Kiffin hire, $91M bet on immediate turnaround
+First Texas visit to Tiger Stadium since 1953 fuels crowd
−Brian Kelly fired mid-season after 49-24 loss to Texas A&M
−59 newcomers, new QB Leavitt still building chemistry
Both starting quarterbacks spent the spring rehabbing the same injury. Arch Manning had offseason foot surgery that limited his reps through spring ball, and by summer he was calling himself 100% healthy. Sam Leavitt, LSU's big-ticket transfer from Arizona State, dealt with the identical issue and a similarly limited spring. Two proven arms, two shaky springs, and now both are expected to be full-go for the biggest date on LSU's home schedule.
Texas shows up with continuity; LSU shows up with a teardown. Steve Sarkisian is running back roughly 68% of a group that finished 10-3 and won its bowl game, then added the No. 3 transfer class in the country, headlined by receiver Cam Coleman. LSU took the opposite route — Kiffin was hired off a 5-3 collapse under Brian Kelly and immediately rebuilt the roster with 43 transfers and 59 newcomers total, backed by a 7-year, $91 million contract that's betting it all comes together fast.
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TEX Texas
LSU LSU
The one holdover Kiffin leaned on is defensive coordinator Blake Baker, while across the field Sarkisian brought in Will Muschamp to run a Georgia-style pressure scheme. Both staffs are essentially betting their defense settles in before their offense does, which is exactly the kind of setup that can turn into a grind by mid-November.
Texas Longhorns
Nov 6?@ Missouri—
Oct 30?vs Mississippi State—
Oct 16?vs Florida—
Oct 10?@ Oklahoma—
Sep 26?@ Tennessee—
Sep 19?vs UTSA—
Sep 12?vs Ohio State—
Sep 5?vs Texas State—
LSU Tigers
Nov 6?vs Alabama—
Oct 16?vs Mississippi State—
Oct 9?@ Kentucky—
Oct 3?vs McNeese—
Sep 25?vs Texas A&M—
Sep 19?@ Ole Miss—
Sep 12?vs Louisiana Tech—
Sep 5?vs Clemson—
Recent form.
LSU's 2025 season unraveled fast — Kelly was fired the night after a 49-24 blowout loss to Texas A&M, and the year ended with a bowl loss to Houston. Texas finished the opposite way: Manning threw 11 touchdowns against a single interception over his final five games, and the Longhorns closed out with a bowl win. That's the gap this matchup starts from — a team that played its best football down the stretch against a program starting over from the coaching staff on down.
Texas Longhorns
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
LSU Tigers
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
None of that guarantees anything once they're actually on the field in Baton Rouge. Tiger Stadium hasn't hosted Texas since 1953, and a crowd that's been waiting all year for Kiffin's first marquee test isn't going to treat November 13 like a normal SEC Friday. If LSU's overhaul has gelled by then, this is exactly the kind of night it shows up.
