I suppose I should have gotten this up sooner, but Vox doesn’t pay me enough to recap a glorified exhibition game that LSU lost which ended at midnight.
Anyway, LSU closed the book on its 2025 season with a 38-35 loss to Houston in the Texas Bowl. They will NOT be repeating as Kinder’s Texas Bowl champions, which I’m sure tears you up inside.
The Texas Bowl started off fun enough. Barion Brown returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. It was the first time LSU returned an opening kick for a touchdown since
Hokie Gajan did it in 1978. Then LSU scored on its first offensive possession of the game to go up 14-0 and it felt like the Tigers would salvage an otherwise wasted season with a nice little bowl win over a ranked Big 12 opponent.
Then the rest of the game happened. Houston quarterback Conner Weigman carved up the remnants of Blake Baker’s defense: 27-36 for 236 yards and a Texas Bowl record four touchdown passes. Dean Connors ran for 126 yards and the Cougars as a whole ran for 201 yards on 46 attempts, while Houston’s excellent tight end Tanner Koziol caught nine passes for 76 yards and a score.
Michael Van Buren had by far and away his best outing as the LSU starting quarterback. MVB completed 16 of 26 passes for 267 yards and threw a season-best three touchdowns. Trey’Dez Green and Kyle Parker showed they could be the face of the new Lane Kiffin offense, combining for 11 catches for 148 yards and three touchdowns.
But it didn’t matter if LSU had Van Buren at his best, a healthy Garrett Nussmeier, or 2019 Joe Burrow under center because the Tiger offensive line couldn’t hold their own. Van Buren was sacked four times, Houston was credited with seven tackles for loss, and LSU could only generate 77 yards on the ground. Harlem Berry led LSU with 45 yards on just three carries, but was banished to the sidelines after a first half fumble. Ju’Juan Johnson and Caden Durham, both of whom were possibly playing in their last game as Tigers, combined for four yards on eight attempts. Maybe it’s not the worst thing in the world that LSU’s had four offensive linemen enter the portal…?
I’m not sure how much stock, if any, we should put into the defensive performance. Six of LSU’s top-seven tacklers did not play in this game, and Bernard Gooden had to be carted off after hurting his ankle. LSU came into tonight with about half of a team, while Houston didn’t have a single player opt out, and I think that showed last night.
So now we are officially on to not just 2026 but the Lane Kiffin Era at LSU. How quickly Kiffin can turn around will likely depend on how effectively LSU spends its roster money. LSU needs a quarterback. And a backup quarterback. And some running backs. And probably two or three starting-caliber offensive linemen. And Blake Baker’s probably going to want to supplement the defense with a guy or two.
Can the rebuild be done overnight? Sure it is. Curt Cignetti got Indiana into the CFP last year. Will the rebuild be easy? No, but that’s why LSU’s paying Lane Kiffin $90 million.
LSU and Houston will see each other again in the not-too-distant future. Remember, the Tigers and Cougars will open up the 2027 season in NRG Stadium. Let’s see what kind of program Lane Kiffin has turned LSU into by that point.
