The Good, Bad and Ugly of No. 21 Houston Cougars' Texas Bowl Win over LSU
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No. 21 Houston Cougars football ended their impressive turnaround 2025 season with a huge 38-35 win over LSU in the Kinder's Texas Bowl at NRG Stadium on Saturday night in Houston.
Going bowling for the first time since 2022, it was a special night for Houston playing in their city in front of a crowd of 63,867, the most in a Texas Bowl since 2019. The Cougars also reached the big 10-win milestone in a single season for the first time in four years, as well as in a power four conference for the first time since 1990.
Junior quarterback Connor Weigman was named the MVP of the Texas Bowl after he diced up the LSU defense for 236 yards and four touchdown passes on 75% completion. Weigman also added 56 yards on the ground.
Senior running back Dean Connors rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, good for almost eight yards per carry. Senior tight end Tanner Koziol was the leading receiver with nine receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown.
"I'm just proud of the kids and the win. I just got done telling them in the locker room that we put together a good group of young men. I've had very, very, very few issues or problems at all," head coach Willie Fritz said. "I'm very demanding on these guys, and they appreciate that, and they do things the way you're supposed to do them. I'm going to miss those seniors. They really did a lot for this program."
Here's the good, bad and ugly of Houston's performance to being crowned Texas Bowl champions.
Good: Comeback to Weather the Storm
After going down 14-0 with 10:48 to go in the first quarter, Houston had no momentum. LSU stormed out of the gate, and Houston’s offense desperately needed to score. Weigman and company answered with a much-needed touchdown.
Houston went 75 yards in nine plays that was capped off by an eight-yard touchdown catch and run by Thomas. The initial ruling was that he was down at the one-yard line, but reversed for six as he reached over the pylon. Houston definitely got helped by a couple of face mask penalties as well. It looked like LSU was in prime position to score at the Houston 33-yard line, but kicker Damian Ramos missed a 44-yard field goal.
The Cougars capitalized on that with a great 14-play drive that took up almost seven minutes, aided by a pass interference. Weigman made a pinpoint four-yard pass to Thomas in the end zone on third and goal for the second straight touchdown drive, both to his breakout star wide receiver.
Those Christmas presents that Weigman promised were looking good in the first half. Thomas ended up with seven receptions for 66 yards besides the two TDs.
The momentum shifted over to the defense as Tigers freshman running back Harlem Berry fumbled, and it was recovered by junior Sione Fotu at the LSU 41-yard line. Senior defensive back Wrook Brown forced it.
After LSU tied it at 21, the Cougars gave a response back. Senior running back Dean Connors ripped off a 35-yard run, and Weigman threw his fourth touchdown pass of the day to backup sophomore tight end Traville Frederick.
When the Tigers tied it again, Houston was able to establish the ground game and take more than seven minutes off the clock while converting third downs through the air. Senior kicker Ethan Sanchez knocked down the 25-yard field goal to get that 31-28 lead.
Houston's defense delivered a three-and-out when they needed it most, and then Connors took over. Koziol came through on a key fourth-and-one as well. Houston's rushing attack was effective in the fourth and Connors basically put the game away on a 20-yard scamper to the endzone for the 38-28 advantage.
Houston outscored LSU 38-14 (excluding the garbage time touchdown) after the first five minutes of the game. Houston was in control for the most part.
Bad: Starts at Each Half
It was a poor start on offense for the Cougars, who strangely ran the ball on third and seven, followed up by a bad punt that set the Tigers up at the Houston 40-yard line. Following that, LSU went right down the field 60 yards in just four plays. Sophomore quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. found a wide-open sophomore tight end, Trey’Dez Green, for a 23-yard touchdown.
Houston’s defense was supposed to limit LSU’s offense, but it took them just over a minute to score on the opening drive. LSU was up 14-0 just under five minutes into the game.
The Cougars were looking good at halftime, up 21-14, but the defense came out slow to start the third quarter. LSU went right down the field in seven plays, and it got started thanks to Barrion Brown again for 37 yards. Green made a tremendous one-handed snag in the end zone over sophomore cornerback Will James.
Houston just could not stop the 6-foot-7 Green and gave up 14 points to the Tigers offense basically through the third quarter. Green ended up with 80 yards and two touchdowns on four catches.
Ugly: Return Game
The 99-yard touchdown on the opening kickoff return of the Texas Bowl from Barion Brown after the pumped-up home crowd was ready to go. The kickoff return unit for Houston was getting embarrassed in the first quarter as Brown evaded at least 10 tacklers on his next return to the LSU 48-yard line. Brown had 142 return yards on two attempts.
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.