Houston Coach Willie Fritz celebrating after winning the Texas Kinders Bowl against LSU on Saturday, Dec. 27, NRG Stadium in Houston,Texas. | Matthew Guzman
The No. 21-ranked Houston Cougars battled it out against the LSU Tigers at NRG Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 27. This is the first time since 2022 that the Cougars have been to a bowl game, and despite being the underdogs, Houston would not disappoint, winning 38-35.
LSU started the game with a 99-yard kick return touchdown from senior wide receiver Barion Brown.
The following possession, Houston would have a three-and-out drive, and LSU made their way down to Cougars’ territory. LSU’s sophomore quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. delivered a 23-yard touchdown pass to sophomore tight end Trey’Dez Green, making the score 14-0 in the Tigers’ favor.
Following LSU’s touchdown, Houston marched down to the Tigers’ 8-yard line and junior quarterback Conner Weigman completed an 8-yard pass to junior wide receiver Amare Thomas for the touchdown, making the score 14-7.
LSU followed up on the next drive by marching down to Houston’s 27-yard line, but would miss a crucial 44-yard field goal. After this, Houston would drive down the field to the Tigers’ 4-yard line, where Weigman would score a 4-yard touchdown pass to Thomas, evening the score 14-14.
On LSU’s drive, Houston senior defensive back Wrook Brown stripped the ball from Tigers’ freshman running back Harlem Barry, giving the Cougars the ball back and a chance to gain the lead. However, Houston failed to convert on a 4th down and gave the ball back to LSU.
After a couple more plays from LSU that would lead to a punt back to the Cougars, Houston would get the ball back, and Weigman would complete a 7-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Tanner Koziol, allowing the Cougars to go up 21-14 and end the first half.
Starting the second half, LSU wasted no time and got into Houston territory, with Buren Jr. delivering a touchdown pass to Green, tying the game back to 21-21.
Houston would respond with a 30-yard rush on the following drive by senior running back Dean Connors. After a couple of plays, Weigman delivered a strike to sophomore tight end Traville Frederick Jr. to retrieve the lead 28-21.
After both teams had their own three-and-outs, LSU immediately got to Houston’s red zone thanks to a 42-yard catch and run from Green. This led to a touchdown pass from Buren Jr. to sophomore wide receiver Kyle Parker to once again tie the game 28-28.
On their following drive, Houston would go back, drive down the field to LSU’s 8-yard line, where senior kicker Ethan Sanchez would make a 25-yard field goal for 3 points, reclaiming the lead 31-28.
With seven minutes left in the game, LSU would punt the ball back to Houston, allowing the Cougars to stomp down to the red zone, where Connors would stampede 20 yards into the endzone to make it a 10-score game, 38-28, with two minutes left in the game.
LSU scrambled to narrow the lead and quickly got to the endzone with a 3-yard scoring run from senior receiver Zavion Thomas with 1:15 left to go. They would try to recover the onside kick afterwards, but Houston would get on top of the ball and kneel the time out, winning 38-35.
Weigman would have 236 passing yards, four touchdowns, setting a Houston record for most touchdowns in a game in school history and was named the MVP of the game.
Connors scrambled for 126 yards and got into the endzone once, and Koziol had 76 yards in the air with one touchdown.
What’s next for Houston Football?
Overall, Houston showcased an elite defense and a poised offense against LSU, which is also their first win against an SEC team since the 90s, controlling the game through tough possessions and excruciating effort. This performance reflected a dominant season as Houston went 10-3 for the first time since 2021, being consistent throughout Willie Fritz’s second year as head coach.
As for the future of Houston Football, there are only positives to look forward to, as Fritz had a very good recruiting class and retained many key players for next season, such as Weigman and Thomas. Fritz also says that “Ten wins is big, not a lot of teams in the country have Ten wins,” which shows how Fritz wants to improve this team to higher heights. And with new stars such as Keisean Henderson and Paris Melvin Jr. expected to join the Cougars in 2026, the sky is bright in Houston once again.
sports@thedailycougar.com
