No. 21 Houston took on the LSU Tigers of the SEC in the Kinder’s Texas Bowl on Saturday night on ESPN. The Cougars were coming off a strong 9-3 campaign in their third season as a Big 12 member, while LSU entered the season with sky-high expectations, before finishing 7-5, which resulted in Brian Kelly getting fired and Lane Kiffin being hired. The Big 12 had won three of the last four Texas Bowls vs. the SEC, however last year it was LSU beating Baylor 44-31.
On Saturday night in Houston, it was the Cougars winning the Texas Bowl 38-35 over LSU. Here are the top three takeaways from the game.
Houston Digs Out of Early Hole
LSU opened a 14-0 lead in the first 4:12 on a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Barion Brown to start the game and a 23-yard touchdown pass from Michael Van Buren Jr. to Trey’Dez Green. Houston, the favorite in the game in front of basically a home crowd at NRG Stadium, was shocked and down two scores. But Houston would then score 21-unanswered points in the first half to go up 21-14 at the halfway mark.
Amare Thomas capped off two drives of over 70 yards in the first half with an 8-yard and 4-yard touchdown catch, respectively. And right before halfway, Houston had a 90-yard drive in just over one minute, with Conner Weigman finding Tanner Koziol for a seven-yard score.
The two teams exchanged third quarter touchdowns, and then LSU tied the game seconds into the fourth quarter at 28. But a Houston field goal, followed by another lengthy 80-yard touchdown drive in which Dean Connors scored on a 20-yard run, made it 38-28 with two minutes left, giving Houston enough cushion to finish off the 38-35 victory.
Houston Beats LSU In the Trenches
While the SEC is known for its line play, most notably on defense, it was Houston who won the battle in the trenches. Sure, LSU was short-handed, but this was still an impressive showing for the Cougars. Houston wanted to lean into the running game, finishing with 46 carries for 201 yards. Meantime, Houston held LSU to just 77 rushing yards on 24 carries, despite back up quarterback Michael Van Buren being more of a dual-threat quarterback.
Then, on the defensive line, Houston piled up four sacks and seven tackles for loss, while LSU didn’t have a single sack on the night, with six tackles for loss. It was an impressive showing for the Cougars.
An SEC Win is an SEC Win
I talked about it on the Heartland College Sports YouTube Channel preview (hope you will subscribe!) that while LSU was without some of its top defenders, it was critical for Houston to get this win. If LSU had won the game, the narrative would have been that this SEC team can beat a Top 25 Big 12 team without some of its key players. Houston’s win avoids that narrative from coming to fruition.
And for coach Willie Fritz, he ends up with one of the best turnarounds from 2024 to 2025. The Cougars, who finished No. 21 in the CFP rankings, had a six-win improvement from coach Willie Fritz’s first season to his second going from four wins to a 10-3 season.
The Big 12 is now 2-0 to start bowl season after BYU beat Georgia Tech in the Pop-Tarts Bowl earlier on Saturday.
