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By Jordan Sigler
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No. 21 LSU had several chances to put No. 6 Texas away, but several critical mistakes allowed the Longhorns to make a fourth-quarter comeback and steal a 22-21 thriller at Tiger Stadium on Saturday night.
During his postgame news conference, LSU head coach Lane Kiffin called out several players for their miscues on Saturday. He pointed to kicker Scott Starzyk's missed field goal attempt from 38 yards as a killer in a one-point loss. He also noted that quarterback Sam Leavitt's three interceptions took points off the board.
"Really disappointing here to be up two scores in the game, and not being able to close it out, plenty of opportunities," Kiffin said, via video from 104.5 ESPN. "Even with all the stuff before, for them to make all their field goals... two 50-yarders and (we) miss our field goal and still lose a one-point game.
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"Obviously, any of those points in there, three critical interceptions, including two red zone interceptions with no points there."
The missed field goal and the three interceptions came before LSU took a 21-10 lead in the third quarter. The big mistake of the night came on defense, when LSU linebacker Davhon Keys was slow to react to motion by Texas' Raleek Brown, and Arch Manning hit the running back for a game-winning four-yard touchdown pass with three seconds remaining in the game.
Kiffin called out Keys for the missed assignment.
"In a lot of areas of the game, we outplayed them to win the game, but again, that's not how it works. Doesn't work that way," Kiffin said. "Just disappointed for our players, our fans... A game comes down to one play, and all the hard plays through the game, man, we just don't run out, cover the guy, make the play really easy, and they walk in the end zone.
"So it's really discouraging, kind of like the last play to Kentucky, that so much comes down to one thing, and there it is, and I like it a lot better when (they) got to work for the plays... or miss a tackle, or a guy's better... than walking in the end zone."
With the loss, Kiffin dropped to 6-4 in his first year at LSU, which is not where he expected to be after serious investment was put into the roster. The Tigers' hopes of making the College Football Playoff are now dashed. LSU will next play Tennessee in Week 12.
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