As questions were tossed at Lane Kiffin about LSU’s 6-4 record in his debut season, there was only one word to summarize it.

“Underperformance,” Kiffin said after a 22-21 defeat to Texas. “Doesn't matter if the game's been close, or goes down to the last, whatever, six seconds.”

It doesn’t matter that LSU, the No. 21 team in the College Football Playoff rankings, had a 21-10 lead over No. 6 Texas well into the third quarter of Saturday’s game — and that the game-losing play came with just a couple of ticks left on the clock.

It doesn’t matter that the Tigers, just a week earlier, had a 13-10 lead over No. 3 Alabama late in the third quarter and had plenty of chances to hold onto that advantage.

It doesn’t matter that LSU led Kentucky late in the fourth quarter, or that the Tigers nearly rallied back at Ole Miss.

An expectation was created after Kiffin was hired on a $13-million-a-year salary after LSU fired Brian Kelly with $54 million remaining on his contract. Kiffin, who had just built a CFP contender at Ole Miss, was supposed to do the same for LSU.

Progress was intended after a 7-6 season when a rumored $50 million in NIL money was poured into the Tigers’ roster, offering Kiffin every opportunity to win in Year 1.

“We were brought here to win, and we need to win more than that,” Kiffin said of his 6-4 mark. “Also, everything isn't built for the first year when you come in somewhere, and I would tell you that if we were undefeated right now.”

Kiffin repeatedly called questions about LSU’s disappointing record “fair” in Saturday’s postgame press conference. But he wanted to acknowledge the flip side of that coin.

If the LSU defense better tracked Texas running back Raleek Brown on his swing route into the flat and stopped him short of the goal line, Kiffin is pretty sure negative questions wouldn’t have been on offer postgame.

Not to mention, four plays before the game-winning touchdown, Texas wideout Ryan Wingo was ruled to have fumbled the ball, which LSU recovered, but the call was overturned by video replay.

Not to mention, LSU missed a 38-yard field goal earlier in the game, which could have made all the difference in a one-point game.

“I get why the questions come,” Kiffin said. “But I also know that one-play difference — and then none of these questions happen. So that's part of kind of understanding coaching and how it works. But you'd be getting those questions if you weren't ahead by two scores and you were getting run out of here.”

The consistency of LSU’s slim, combustible margins against ranked teams is an issue. But the Tigers (6-4, 3-4 SEC) aren’t so far away from being competitive that they couldn’t outgain Alabama, 457-285, even if that somehow resulted in a 31-13 loss because of miserable red-zone execution.

LSU, again, outgained Texas, 366-273, but the Tigers were 2-of-5 converting red-zone opportunities into points.

There are persistent problems plaguing Kiffin’s first team in Baton Rouge. Quarterback Sam Leavitt contributed mightily to LSU’s red-zone issues, throwing three interceptions.

Kiffin admitted the Tigers played conservatively in the fourth quarter Saturday, trying to protect the lead and play to their defense. But they punted four straight times after taking a 21-10 lead, unable to consistently run the ball, and LSU’s punts allowed Texas to start drives on its own 46, 37, 35 and 42.

Special teams have been an issue, particularly in the Tigers’ losses to Kentucky, Alabama and Texas — and special teams performance is closely tied to a team’s depth.

“You build things, and they take a little bit of time,” Kiffin said. “I'm not saying to necessarily win, we should be winning. But to get things where your roster is those guys (Texas) when you watch warm-ups.

“Those guys have done a great job of building a team with size, with backups, special teams players, and it didn't look like that (in Steve Sarkisian’s) first year.”

These arguments are harder to sell in the transfer portal era, especially after Indiana won a national title in 2025 and UCLA and Wake Forest have emerged as darlings in 2026.

Kiffin would probably argue the SEC and its nine-game conference schedule, plus a required Power 4 non-conference game, creates a more difficult path to the playoff.

But his inability to win these games, alongside his preexisting sub-.500 record in contests against ranked opponents, will raise questions about Kiffin’s mastery of the portal and his schemes. He was asked postgame if he believes LSU has enough foundational pieces.

“I'm concerned that we lost. I'm not concerned about the future,” Kiffin said. “As I said it, weeks before when we were winning, we'll have better rosters. And that's not a poor reflection upon these players. We just will.

“We will have been here. We will have real depth. We won't have Senior Days with two scholarship players.”