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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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No. 6 Texas heads into its clash with No. 21 LSU in Baton Rouge on Saturday as one of the hottest teams in college football.
The Longhorns have won three straight, including a 31-3 beatdown of Mississippi State, along with ranked wins over then-No. 7 Ole Miss (34-27) and No. 18 Missouri (34-20). The Tigers, meanwhile, have watched their College Football Playoff odds plummet after a 31-13 loss at home to then-No. 5 Alabama last weekend, with just a 19% chance of making the postseason, according to ESPN's Allstate Playoff Predictor.
But not everybody is convinced Texas should be the favorite against LSU, including former Tigers and Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly.
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"I don't know if Texas can protect. I don't think you can fix that over a week," Kelly said on CBS Sports' "Inside College Football."
"For LSU, it's situational football. They have to be better in the red zone. They have to be better in fourth-down situations. I think you can correct situational football with execution. I don't know if they can protect. I'm going with LSU."
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In LSU's loss to Alabama, the Tigers went just 3 of 14 on third downs and 0 for 4 on fourth downs. They turned the ball over twice and scored just a single touchdown, despite putting up 457 total yards to the Crimson Tide's 285. Turnovers, specifically, have been a problem for LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt all year. He's thrown an interception in each of the Tigers' three losses this season and has nine total on the year. He's also been sacked 15 times and fumbled the ball twice.
But Arch Manning has been under pressure all season at Texas. He's been sacked 27 times, the third-most in FBS, and has had his own issues with turnovers, including seven interceptions and four fumbles across nine games. Last week against Missouri, he went 28 of 38 for 297 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, but was also sacked three times and fumbled the ball once.
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The Longhorns have dealt with a lot of injuries on offense, which hasn't helped Manning, notably losing All-SEC left tackle Trevor Goosby, but protection has been an issue that's plagued Texas all season, and with just three games remaining, there isn't much time left to clean that up.
LSU is more desperate for a win on Saturday, as a loss would end any hopes of making the CFP. But another loss for the Longhorns would give them their third of the year, which could be very damaging to their own playoff résumé.
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