CFB Bowl Preview 2025: Kinders Texas Bowl
By George Somerville
Bowl season is in full swing and we will be previewing some of the bigger matchups over the next couple of weeks. This year’s Texas Bowl will be contested between the Houston Cougars and the LSU Tigers. George takes a look at the key matchups.
Where and When
The Houston Cougars take on the LSU Tigers in the Texas Bowl at NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas on Saturday 27th at 8.15pm CT/Sunday 2.15am UK. The game is being broadcast by ESPN, and in the UK you can watch on DAZN Sports.
Story So Far...
Originally known as the Blue Bonnet Bowl, the Texas Bowl is the annual bowl matchup between invitees from the BIGXII and the SEC and has been played since 1959.
While both programs are well-established and have storied football histories, this is only the third time the Cougars and Tigers have faced each other.
The teams first met in 1996, with LSU leading the series 2-1.
Cougars Head coach, Willie Fritz, is in his second season in Houston and has led his team to a 9-3 regular season record.
Lane Kiffin is now the Head coach in Baton Rouge after the most public and acrimonious of departures from Ole Miss. However, Kiffin won’t coach in the Texas Bowl, leaving that to Frank Wilson, who took charge of the Tigers after Brian Kelly left.
LSU played in the Texas Bowl last season, beating the Baylor Bears 44-31.
Houston makes their first Bowl appearance since 2022 when the Cougars beat another team from Louisiana, the Rajin’ Cajuns 23-16 in the Independence Bowl. Willie Fritz and his Cougars will be looking for a similar outcome this time around.
The Quarterbacks
HOUSTON: CONNER WEIGMAN
The Cougars are much improved in year two of the Willie Fritz era, and much of this is because of their quarterback. Conner Weigman. Yes, the same Conner Weigman who was with the Aggies in College Station before transferring down to Houston. Weigman has been a difference maker this year.
Injuries stalled his Aggies career, but now Weigman is home, metaphorically and physically speaking, with Houston being his hometown.
Weigman’s Junior season has seen him throw for 2,475 yards, 21 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. His 65% QBR ranks him in the top 50 FBS players nationally. However, it is his play-making abilities with his feet that catch the eye and have made the difference for Houston this year. Rushing for 644 yards and 11 touchdowns – more than anyone else on the Cougars team has contributed to their successful season. A threat that LSU must extinguish if they are to win in Houston. And good news for Cougar fans: Weigman will return in 2026 for his Senior season.
LSU: Michael Van Buren Jr
The Tigers will be without Garrett Nussmeier, who has elected to opt out of the game. Unsurprising given Nussmeier’s tumultuous season, hampered by a lingering injury he seemed to carry for most of the season.
However, this gives Michael Van Buren Jr another opportunity to shine in front of a national tv audience. Since his transfer from Mississippi State last season, Van Buren’s opportunities have been limited, though he must have been pleasantly surprised to see action in six games and play in all three of the last ones. In all appearances, Van Buren had a 62% QBR, throwing for 743 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. His ground game is strong, also accumulating one touchdown from 105 yards rushing.
Who to Watch
Houston Cougars
Amare Thomas, Wide Receiver – As well as bringing in Weigman from the transfer portal, the Cougars offense was transformed with the addition of wide receiver Amare Thomas from UAB.
In his first season in Houston, Thomas has 59 receptions for 906 yards and 10 touchdowns. His season stats are second only to TCU wideout Eric McAlister. Should Thomas’ form carry over into the bowl game, he could be the first Houston Cougar to have a 1,00 yard receiving season since Tank Dell. With a number of drop outs on defense for LSU, this achievement is well within Thomas’s grasp.
LSU
Trey’Dez Green, Tight End – The big story from LSU is more about the number of players not available to Frank Wilson. A host of star players, including QB Garrett Nussmeier and Linebacker Harold Perkins Jr, will sit this game out. However, Tight End Trey’Dez Green will play and has been one of the few shining lights on a hugely underachieving Tigers offense this season.
The six-foot-seven sophomore has totalled 29 receptions for 353 yards and five touchdowns in ten appearances this season. Green’s availability will be essential for Van Buren if his passing game is to succeed.
Prediction
Ordinarily, I would have the Tigers as heavy favourites to win this game. However, there are several intangibles that make the Tigers underdogs. Currently, ESPN has the Cougars as 3.5-point favourites over the Tigers.
LSU is a team in transition, and a lot has happened in Baton Rouge over the last few weeks. This upheaval must have affected the team. The number of dropouts signals to this upheaval, and while Frank Wilson will lead the team out for his final game, there is no doubt that this has been a difficult period for the Tigers.
Houston are in form, and Willie Fritz is on the fringe of transforming the fortunes of another team he takes charge of. The transfer portal additions have made this Cougars team dangerous to play against, and with a stadium sure to be full of Cougars fans, they will look to finish their season on a high.
Final score: Houston 31 – LSU 17
George Somerville
COLLEGE FOOTBALL ANALYST
GEORGE IS A LONG STANDING FANATIC OF LIFE AND FOOTBALL IN THE DEEP SOUTH AND WRITES HIS WEEKLY COLUMN CALLED “IT’S ONLY SEC” FOR THE TOUCHDOWN. HE IS ALSO CO-HOST AND ONE THIRD OF THE COLLEGE CHAPS PODCAST, THE UK’S FIRST PODCAST DEDICATED TO THE COLLEGE GAME.