LSU Football Prepares for a Texas Bowl Finale That Feels More Like a Farewell Tour
When LSU takes the field at NRG Stadium in Houston this Saturday night, it won’t just be the final game of the season-it’ll feel more like the closing scene of a long, strange chapter. The Tigers are limping into the Texas Bowl, a team stripped down by injuries, opt-outs, and a coaching change that’s left more questions than answers.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
LSU entered the 2025 season with sky-high expectations. They boasted the No. 1 transfer portal class in the country, a Heisman-contending quarterback in Garrett Nussmeier, and a preseason ranking of No.
- There was swagger, there was talk of “receipts,” and there was even a not-so-subtle nod to a national championship run.
But those dreams unraveled quickly.
A Season That Slipped Away
Brian Kelly’s bold proclamation-“We’re taking receipts, and we’ll see you at the national championship”-felt like a rallying cry back in August. It was a confident echo of Deion Sanders’ bravado from a year earlier.
But just like Sanders’ Colorado squad, Kelly’s Tigers couldn’t back it up. LSU stumbled to a 7-5 finish, including a 3-5 mark in SEC play, and any playoff hopes were long gone by Halloween.
Kelly didn’t even make it to December. He was fired on October 26, the day after a 49-25 loss to No.
3 Texas A&M dropped LSU to 5-3. It was the fourth straight season under Kelly that ended without a College Football Playoff appearance.
Now, the only “receipt” left is a hefty $54 million buyout on a 10-year, $100 million contract.
A Roster in Transition
LSU’s trip to the Texas Bowl against No. 21 Houston (9-3) isn’t just the end of the season-it’s a makeshift audition for what’s left of the roster. The Tigers are without their head coach, and they’ll also be without several key players who’ve either declared for the NFL Draft or entered the transfer portal.
Garrett Nussmeier, the senior quarterback who opened the season with Heisman buzz, won’t suit up. He battled through a painful abdominal strain for most of the year behind an offensive line that never quite gelled. He’s now focused on getting healthy ahead of the NFL Draft.
That leaves sophomore Michael Van Buren in line to start at quarterback. He’ll be backed up by Ju’Juan Johnson, a sophomore who has already announced his intention to enter the transfer portal. It’s a snapshot of the current state of college football-fluid, uncertain, and often transactional.
On the offensive side, Van Buren will have at least one familiar target in senior wideout Chris Hilton, who’s expected to play. Hilton had a breakout performance in last year’s Texas Bowl win over Baylor, racking up 113 yards and a touchdown on just four catches. LSU will also have sophomore running back Caden Durham and freshman Harlem Berry available, along with center Braelin Moore.
But the list of absences is longer-and more telling.
Defensively, LSU will be without standout cornerback Mansoor Delane, who played through a core injury this season and is now prepping for the NFL Draft. Safety AJ Haulcy, another portal gem, will also sit out as he eyes the next level.
They’re not alone. Defensive end Jack Pyburn, linebacker Harold Perkins Jr., wide receivers Aaron Anderson and Barion Brown, and senior guard Josh Thompson are all healthy scratches, opting out to prepare for the draft.
In total, most of the 11 players who have entered or plan to enter the portal won’t be suiting up in Houston.
A Coaching Staff in Limbo
The coaching situation isn’t much more stable. Lane Kiffin, LSU’s newly hired head coach, won’t be on the sidelines Saturday.
He’s been busy evaluating the roster and planning for the next portal window (January 2-16) and the upcoming high school signing day in February. Kiffin has brought six offensive assistants with him from Ole Miss, but they’re back in Oxford preparing the No.
6 Rebels for a Sugar Bowl showdown against No. 3 Georgia.
So who’s coaching LSU in the Texas Bowl? The outgoing staff-coaches who have not been retained and are coaching their final game in purple and gold. Interim head coach Frank Wilson, the only one with a new job lined up (he’ll join Kiffin at Ole Miss as running backs coach), will lead the team through the bowl.
It’s a lame-duck staff guiding a depleted roster into a bowl game that, frankly, doesn’t carry much weight beyond the stat sheet.
A Bowl Game in Name Only
Let’s call it what it is: this isn’t the kind of bowl game LSU fans envisioned back in August. The Tigers’ matchup with Houston won’t draw headlines or sell out stadiums. Media coverage has been minimal, and the typical buzz surrounding bowl season is noticeably absent.
Even Kiffin, according to reports, wasn’t exactly impressed while watching LSU’s 17-13 loss to Oklahoma in the regular-season finale. “Who came up with this game plan?”
he reportedly asked. It’s a question that’s echoed through Baton Rouge all season long.
The Road Ahead
Saturday’s game may not mean much in the standings, but it does mark the end of an era-and the beginning of a rebuild. Kiffin has a reputation for working the portal with precision, and he’ll have his hands full shaping the next iteration of LSU football.
The Tigers still have talent, and the brand still carries weight. But the program needs direction, identity, and cohesion-things that were missing in 2025.
For now, LSU fans will watch a patchwork lineup take the field in Houston, knowing that the real work starts the moment the clock hits zero.
This Texas Bowl might not be the storybook ending anyone hoped for, but it’s the final page of a season that will be remembered more for what could’ve been than what was.