The tumultuous 2025 season ended on Saturday night in Houston with an entertaining game, but a 38-35 loss to 21st ranked Houston.
The contest featured the first opening kickoff for a touchdown by an LSU player since 1978 (Hokie Gajan).
Barion Brown took the opening kick 99 yards for his SEC record sixth kickoff return for a touchdown.
LSU also scored more than 25 points against an FBS opponent for the first time this year.
But despite scoring the first 14 points, LSU’s defense struggled to slow down Houston’s offense, allowing 437 yards, 32 first downs, and Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman threw for 236 yards and a Texas Bowl record four touchdowns.
The defense failed to produce any turnovers or get any sacks.
Nine penalties for 95 yards did not help either. Several penalties gave Houston’s offense a first down.
It is the first time LSU lost a game when leading by two touchdowns or more since 2008.
LSU once again struggled to run the football, just 77 yards on the ground. Harlem Berry led all LSU rushers with 45 yards on three carries, but he barely saw the field after fumbling in the second quarter.
There were some good individual offensive performances. Quarterback Michael Van Buren had a good day as he threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged 16 yards per completion.
Tight end Trey’Dez Green caught four passes for 80 yards and two touchdowns. The second touchdown catch was an unbelievable grab with a defender all over him.
Kyle Parker led all LSU receivers with 7 catches for 68 yards and a touchdown as he figures to be a big part of Lane Kiffin’s offense.
And that is really all that needs to be said about the Texas Bowl, as now the Kiffin era can officially begin.
His staff is in place, and he is eagerly awaiting the opening of the transfer portal on January 2nd.
The Tigers are expected to be ultra-competitive. When Kiffin was hired, “The Advocate” reported LSU was prepared to spend up to $30 million annually on Kiffin’s roster.
Kiffin was a spectator for the Texas Bowl, watching the game from the sideline with his son Knox. He spent a few minutes talking with the ESPN TV broadcast crew in the second quarter.
During that interview, Kiffin said that he just spoke with his offensive coordinator, Charlie Weiss, about transfer quarterbacks. He also said he is constantly hearing from agents of players.
“That’s the world we live in now,” Kiffin said.
When the portal opens on Friday, I expect you will hear players committing right away, just like you do when the NFL and NBA free agency period opens. There have been enough conversations through back channels that many players have already agreed to an NIL deal in principle.
Signing a starting quarterback is a huge cost. The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel reported that Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt, Cincinnati’s Brendan Sorsby, and Nebraska’s Dylan Raioloa could all receive a deal between four and six million dollars.
Kiffin will also have to invest heavily in the offensive and defensive lines. Four starting o-linemen for LSU have announced their intentions to enter the transfer portal, and the Tigers' defensive line needs work after failing to get any pressure on Houston’s quarterback in the Texas Bowl.
Kiffin was known as the transfer portal king at Ole Miss, but it sounds like at LSU, he will also lean heavily on high school recruiting.
“Like Saban said, more per capita than any other state when it comes to NFL players (from Louisiana),” Kiffin said. “So, to keep those guys home is a huge priority. To build through high schools and add through the portal is different than what we had to do in the state of Mississippi.
“At Ole Miss, no significant players from Mississippi are on the offense at all, which is probably the best offense in college football. All those guys came in to be a part of what we were doing. So, keep the high school players here, and then add players as we did before (at Ole Miss), and that’s, you know, the sky’s the limit.”
The Texas Bowl loss to Houston closes a frustrating era as former head coach Brian Kelly had a hard time keeping up with the changing world of college football.
LSU is paying Kiffin 13 million dollars because he understands what it takes to win in today’s age of college football. All the money LSU and its supporters have put towards Kiffin’s salary and NIL deals will be put into action on Friday, and it should result in better times for the Tigers.
The last few weeks have been a little discouraging, hearing about all of the LSU players who have announced their plan to enter the transfer portal. That all changes Friday, when talented players from across the country begin to announce they are planning to play at LSU.
Let fun times begin!
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