How to Watch No. 21 Houston Cougars vs LSU Tigers in Texas Bowl
In this story:
No. 21 Houston Cougars football wrap up a historic turnaround year with their first bowl appearance since 2022. Houston went 9-3 in the regular season and are trying to reach 10 wins in a season for the first time in four years.
The Cougars clinched a bowl game appearance after a Week Eight win over No. 18 Arizona to begin the season 6-1. This was one of the goals for Houston to begin this season, and the Cougar fan base has been looking forward to this moment.
With finishing the Big 12 ranked fourth in the conference standings, Houston was expected to get one of the better bowl games, and it honestly couldn’t have worked out better for them. UH gets to stay home in their city for the Kinder’s Texas Bowl to take on a big SEC football brand in LSU at NRG Stadium in Houston.
Here’s more information on Houston’s matchup against LSU.
How to Watch Houston Cougars vs LSU Tigers
Who: Houston Cougars (9-3) vs LSU Tigers (7-5)
What: Kinder’s Texas Bowl
When: Saturday, Dec. 27 at 8:15 p.m. CST
Where: NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas
TV/Streaming: ESPN
TV Announcers: Tom Hart (Play-by-play), Jordan Rodgers (Analyst), Cole Cubelic (Sideline)
Radio: KPRC 950 AM, The Varsity network, Sirius XM 138 or 199
Radio Announcers: Kevin Eschenfelder (Play-by-play), Ted Pardee (Analyst), Jeremy Branham (Sideline), Matt Thomas (Pregame Host)
Last Season: Houston had their second straight 4-8 year and were 3-6 in the Big 12 to finish 12th out of 16 in Willie Fritz’s first season. Meanwhile, LSU ended up 9-4 and were also featured in the Texas Bowl, which the Tigers won 44-31 over the Baylor Bears. LSU was 5-3 in SEC play and seventh in the conference.
Series History: LSU leads the all-time series 2-1. The Cougars have faced off against the Tigers on just three occasions, with the last one coming 25 years ago in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. UH lost 28-13.
Meet the Coaches
Willie Fritz, Houston: This is Houston’s first bowl appearance under head coach Willie Fritz, and the Cougars currently have a 13-11 record with him at the helm through two full regular seasons. Fritz is leading a tremendous turnaround at Houston after going 4-8 in his first year. The Cougars have been ranked and will play in a bowl game for the first time since 2022.
He is a semifinalist for the George Munger Coach of the Year Award and is also on the Bear Bryant Award Watch List, an award he won in 2023. This is his 33rd season overall coaching and has a 260-132-1 record. Fritz ranks fourth nationally among active FBS head coaches with 220 victories.
Frank Wilson, LSU: Wilson is currently the interim head coach of the Tigers as they make their transition from the firing of Brian Kelly back in October after a huge loss to Texas A&M. LSU, of course, hired Lane Kiffin, and he is currently their head coach; however, he is not coaching in the bowl game. Wilson is 2-2 as an interim and stays on for the Texas Bowl to finish out a wild year for the Tigers.
Wilson is in his 10th season with LSU and has been a two-time national recruiter of the year. He has two previous stints as a head coach at UTSA from 2016-19 and McNeese from 2020-21. Wilson’s overall record is 28-42.
What to Know About LSU
The coaching situation with the Tigers will get much clearer once Kiffin is officially in charge of the team once Wilson is relieved of his interim duties. This is LSU’s second straight appearance in the Texas Bowl, and they snuck into bowl contention with an under-the-radar 7-5 record. However, the Tigers struggled in SEC play with a 3-5 record.
Senior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier will not play in this bowl game due to his abdominal injury that ended his season early. Nussmeier reaggravated this injury that he initially suffered during preseason, and it was not an ideal last season at LSU for him after he decided to stay with the Tigers and not pursue the NFL Draft.
Nussmeier threw for 1,927 yards along with 12 touchdowns and five interceptions. Backup quarterback, sophomore Michael Van Buren Jr. started the last three games and won two of them; however, the offense has struggled just like it did under Nussmeier as well. In a win over Western Kentucky, Van Buren Jr. could only manage 202 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
The Tigers are coming off a 17-13 loss to Oklahoma. What stood out about LSU to Fritz was their size and how big their players are across the board. However, LSU’s offense was ranked 109th overall. The Tigers have two running backs, Caden Durham and Harlem Berry.
While none of their wide receivers have over 500 yards receiving, 6-foot-7 sophomore tight end Trey’Dez Green does have five touchdowns along with 353 receiving yards.
The Cougars will need to keep an eye out on talented freshman cornerback DJ Pickett as well as former Houston safety A.J. Haulcy.
Houston will have to be at their best in order to be crowned Texas Bowl champions over LSU on Saturday night.
Maanav Gupta is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He graduated from the University of Houston in the summer of 2025 with his bachelor’s in journalism and a minor in Spanish. Gupta spent three years at the student newspaper, The Daily Cougar, and also covered the 2025 Final Four and National Championship as Houston beat writer for College Basketball Review. He also has his own YouTube channel, Maanav’s Sports Talk, where he has interviewed professional athletes and broadcasters like Jim Nantz, Jose Altuve, J.J. Watt, Rich Eisen, and Alperen Sengun. Gupta was also a contributor to the Houston athletic program as a student. You can find Gupta on X, Instagram and TikTok @MGSportsTalk.