Three Keys to Victory For Houston vs. LSU Tigers
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The Houston Cougars have one final stop in the 2025 season that has seen them improve from a four-win team last year to currently rolling into bowl game season with a 9-3 record and a chance to have a 10-win season for the first time since 2021.
The Cougars get to stay home for their bowl game matchup, taking on the LSU Tigers in the Kinder's Texas Bowl held at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX on Saturday, Dec. 27 at 8:15 PM.
While the Coogs had a much-improved season, it was not the best year in Baton Rouge, with the Tigers ending the regular season with a 7-5 record, a coaching change, and heading into this matchup without a lot of their top players. With the Texas Bowl just a few days away, here are three keys for the Cougars to secure a victory over LSU.
Get Dean Connors Rolling Early
One of the surprises for the Coogs was transfer running back Dean Connors becoming the top option in the running back room. The senior totaled 851 yards while averaging nearly five yards a carry on 184 attempts and five touchdowns. Connors also found a role in the passing game with 31 receptions for 242 yards and three touchdowns.
With Connor's playmaking ability, the Coogs will have to get him started quickly against an LSU squad that was solid against the run this season, limiting opponents to an average of 117 rushing yards per game.
Target Amare Thomas and Tanner Koziol Often
Houston's two biggest weapons in the passing game were wide receiver Amare Thomas and tight end Tanner Koziol, with the pair ending the season as the Coogs two leading pass-catchers.
Thomas had a breakout year finished as the third leading receiver in the entire Big 12 with 906 yards on 59 receptions and 10 touchdowns. The wide receiver should be a big piece in the Coogs' offensive gameplan especially with the Tigers being without their best cornerback in Mansoor Delane, who opted out of the bowl game and declared for the NFL Draft.
Koziol became a reliable target in key situations for Conner Weigman, with the tight end ending the regular season with 65 catches for 651 yards and five touchdowns. The big six-foot-seven target should play a big role in the bowl game, with LSU being without several of its linebackers.
Pressure the Quarterback
Both the Coogs' pass rush and the Tigers' pass protection ended the regular season around the middle of their conference. The Coogs sacked opposing quarterbacks 24 times, which finished ninth in the Big 12, and the Tigers allowed 25 sacks, which was eighth in the SEC.
In the Tigers' last three games, all of which quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. started, who's likely the starter in the Texas Bowl for LSU, he was sacked six times in the span of those three matchups. If the Coogs can get the likes of Eddie Walls III or Brandon Mack II rolling in pressuring Van Buren, the matchup could be difficult for the Tigers to run an efficient offense.
