What the Stats Say About Houston Cougars vs. LSU Tigers Bowl Matchup

The Houston Cougars take on the LSU Tigers at the Texas Bowl, here's a look at the matchup by the statistics.

Houston Cougars head coach Willie Fritz reacts on the sidelines against the Baylor Bears during the second half at McLane Stadium. | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

The Houston Cougars find themselves with one final test left in the 2025 season after a much better campaign in Year 2 under head coach Willie Fritz, who has the Coogs sitting at 9-3 heading into their bowl game.

To officially mark the end of the season, the Cougars get the chance to stay home and play in the Kinder's Texas Bowl against the SEC's LSU Tigers, hosted at NRG Stadium in Houston on Saturday night.

The Coogs matchup with the Tigers for the first time in 25 years, and while LSU is usually in the national championship picture, a tumultuous 2025 season has the Tigers ending the regular season with a 7-5 record. With the game just a few days away, here's an in-depth look at the matchup by the statistics.

Line of Scrimmage will be Vital

Houston Cougars running back Dean Connors (44) runs with the ball during the first quarter against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks at TDECU Stadium. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Coogs will obviously look to run the football, whether that's with running back Dean Connors or quarterback Conner Weigman on designed runs or scrambles out of the pocket. Either way, the Cougars' ground game has been a big piece of the offense, having the sixth-best rushing offense in the Big 12, averaging 175 yards per game and over four yards per carry.

While the Coogs will have to establish the run, it won't come as easily with the Tigers having been stout against team rushing attacks throughout the year. LSU holds the seventh-best rush defense in the SEC, minimizing opponents to 117 yards per game and under four yards per carry.

Elsewhere, protecting and pressuring the quarterback is always important in every game, and it won't be different in the Texas Bowl, as each side of the line scrimmage will look to protect or disrupt the quarterback.

For the Coogs there offensive line has done a solid job in protecting Weigman throughout the year, allowing their quarterback to be sacked 19 times all season, and on the other side of the ball, Houston's defensive line has gotten to opposing quarterbacks a total of 24 times.

For the Tigers, both sides of the line of scrimmage have been productive, with the offensive line allowing 25 sacks and the defensive line recording 27 sacks.

Which Quarterback can Find a Rhythm?

Houston Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman (1) in action during the second half against the Baylor Bears at McLane Stadium. | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

How long Weigman's plays in the Texas Bowl is obviously a key question, but in the series he does play, getting him to a good rhythm will be key. In the Coogs' last three games, Weigman averaged nearly 200 passing yards per game.

While the Tigers have one of the better passing defenses in the SEC, holding opponents to about 200 passing yards per game, while they will be without their top cornerback, Mansoor Delane, heading to the NFL Draft.

And for the Tigers there starting quarterback will likely be Michael Van Buren Jr., who started the last three games for LSU. In those three games, Van Buren averaged about 173 yards per game. The Coogs do have a stout passing defense that allows about 215 passing yards per game throughout the season.