Houston Cougars Officially Receive Exciting Matchup for Bowl Game

The Houston Cougars will be facing a usual SEC powerhouse in their bowl game.

Houston Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman during warmups before the game against the Baylor Bears at McLane Stadium. | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

The Houston Cougars finished off a strong regular season with a 9-3 record in the second year under head coach Willie Fritz.

Houston missed out on the College Football Playoff after failing to reach the Big 12 Championship but it was still a positive season for the Cougs.

The Cougars came in at No. 21 in the final CFP rankings and now know where they will be playing their bowl game and who they will be facing.

Houston Cougars vs. LSU Tigers

LSU Tigers safety Dashawn Spears celebrates with Louisiana State Tigers defensive end Patrick Payton first half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Per reports from On3's Brett McMurphy, the Cougars will face the LSU Tigers (7-5) in the Texas Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 27 at NRG Stadium.

This means it will essentially be a home game for Houston, though LSU fans will certainly be out in full force as well.

Crazy enough, the two teams will also be playing each other at NRG Stadium to kickoff the 2027 season.

But before that, both programs will meet for the first time in 28 years at the Texas Bowl. The last time Houston and LSU met was in 2000, as the Tigers won 28-13 in Baton Rouge.

The Tigers made major headlines last week with the hiring of head coach Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss. He won't be coaching against Houston though, as interim head coach Frank Wilson will get one final chance to lead LSU.

LSU started off the season as the No. 9 team in the AP Poll before rising up to No. 3 after a win over then-No. 4 Clemson. The Tigers rode this momentum to a 4-0 start.

Of course, LSU fell off the rails after that with losses to Ole Miss and Vanderbilt.

The Tigers then fired head coach Brian Kelly on Oct. 26 amid a 5-3 start. LSU ended the regular season 2-2 after this point with losses to then-No. 4 Alabama and No. 8 Oklahoma.

Though the season didn't go as LSU expected, Houston will still have a tough challenge on its hands. LSU's roster is still littered with elite SEC talent that should make the Texas Bowl a fun one.