Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
By Hunt Palmer
LSU’s 2025 season ends on Saturday. An era departs with it.
All eyes in Baton Rouge are on Lane Kiffin’s first staff and the roster overhaul coming in early January. Still, this team will punctuate its season in the Texas Bowl. The two weeks of practice and final time buckling chin straps still means something, even if it’s not what it once was.
Houston enters the game 9-3 with a prime-time opportunity against a name brand opponent. Add on the game’s location just miles from campus and the stadium being an NFL venue, it’s advantage Cougars from a motivation perspective.
LSU will field a scuffling offense and a defense devoid of most of its top players. Houston is a 3.5 point favorite. Let’s look at some matchups.
LSU CB DJ PICKETT VS. HOUSTON WR AMARE THOMAS
Pickett is the top dog in Baton Rouge now. Thorpe Award finalist Mansoor Delane will not play on Saturday, so Pickett assumes his role as the No. 1 corner.
Thomas provides an interesting matchup with the long, rangy Pickett because he’s a 5’11” target with good quickness. Houston’s best playmaker this year, Thomas, has caught 59 balls for 906 yards and a team-best 10 touchdowns. He averages over 15 yards per catch.
Pickett will garner some pre-season All-America honors next summer. He’s got a tall task on Saturday night.
LSU YOUNG LBs VS. HOUSTON GROUND ATTACK
Whit and West Weeks won’t play on Saturday. Neither will Harold Perkins Jr. That means Davhon Keys and Tylen Singleton will have to man the middle of LSU’s defense. Jardin Gilbert will play the STAR.
Don’t rule out cameos from Zach Weeks or Charles Ross.
This is now LSU’s second team facing a unit that wants to establish the ground game. Houston runs the ball 42 times for game; that’s 21st nationally. Dean Connors is 149 yards from 1,000 on the season. Conner Weigman has run for 644 yards and a team-best 11 touchdowns.
The Willie Fritz offense is predicated on discipline and misdirection in the rushing attack. They’ll be challenging a group of Tiger defenders that hasn’t proven much.
LSU’s RED ZONE OFFENSE VS. HOUSTON’s RED ZONE DEFENSE
LSU may not reach the red zone much. When they do, the Tigers have to get touchdowns.
Houston hasn’t been a very good defense, but they’ve been really done a good job of keeping the ball out of the end zone. They’re ninth nationally with a 44.7% touchdown rate allowed.
LSU still ranks 132nd of 136 teams in red zone rushing yards per carry. It’s just hard to win games settling for threes. LSU’s first job is getting to the red zone. From there, it needs to be touchdowns.
This game figures to be a low-scoring affair. LSU has enough defensive personnel to contain a mediocre Houston offense, and the Tiger offense hasn’t found a rhythm all year. The difference in turning threes into sevens could be massive.
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