By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
BATON ROUGE — LSU – or some form of the Tigers depending on how many players opt out or enter the transfer portal – will play a familiar face in this year’s bowl game.
Dave Aranda, LSU’s defensive coordinator from 2016 to 2019 before becoming Baylor’s head coach, brings the Bears to Houston’s NRG Stadium for a Dec. 31 Kinder’s Texas Bowl matchup vs. the Tigers.
The game will be televised by ESPN with a 2:30 p.m. kickoff.
Baylor (8-4, 6-3 Big 12) enters the game on a six-game winning streak which ranks as the fifth-longest active streak in the FBS.
Though LSU (8-4, 5-3 SEC) has won 8 of 11 games against Baylor, it is 0-2 in bowl games against the Bears (losses of 14-7 in the 1963 Bluebonnet Bowl and 21-7 in the 1985 Liberty Bowl).
The Tigers are 1-1 in the Texas Bowl.
Leonard Fournette scored five touchdowns and ran for 212 yards in a 56-27 LSU win over Texas Tech in the 2015 Texas Bowl. Red Raiders’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for 370 yards and four TDs but was sacked six times and pressured 10 times.
In the 2021 Texas Bowl, Kansas State hammered the Tigers 42-20. The Tigers with a depleted roster and an interim head coach (Brad Davis) had to use receiver Jontre Kirkln as their starting quarterback.
LSU is 2-0 in bowl games under third-year head coach Brian Kelly, beating Iowa, 63-7, in the Citrus Bowl in 2022 followed last year with a 35-31 win over Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier hasn’t announced if he’s entering the NFL Draft, so it’s assumed he’s playing in the bowl.
Nussmeier has thrown for 3,735 yards and 26 touchdowns. His 313 completions this year lead the SEC and ranks No. 2 all-time in LSU history, while his 3,735 passing yards rank No. 2 in the league and third in school history.
Here all the SEC’s playoff and bowl matchups:
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF GAMES
- CFP First Round Game – Clemson at Texas (Austin) – Dec. 21 – 3 pm CT – TNT and MAX
- CFP First Round Game – Tennessee at Ohio State (Columbus) – Dec. 21 – 7 pm CT – ESPN and ABC
- Allstate Sugar Bowl (New Orleans) – Georgia vs. Indiana/Notre Dame winner – Jan. 1 – 7:45 pm CT – ESPN
SEC-AFFILIATED BOWLS:
- Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa) – Florida vs. Tulane – Dec. 20 – 1:30 pm CT – ESPN
- Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth) – Oklahoma vs. Navy – Dec. 27 – 11 a.m. CT – ESPN
- Birmingham Bowl (Birmingham) – Vanderbilt vs. Georgia Tech – Dec. 27 – 1:30 pm CT – ESPN
- AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Memphis) – Dec. 27 – Texas Tech – 6 pm CT – ESPN
- SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl (Las Vegas) – Dec. 27 – Texas A&M vs. USC – 8:30 pm CT – ESPN
- TransPerfect Music City Bowl (Nashville) – Missouri vs. Iowa – Dec. 30 – 1:30 pm CT – ESPN
- Reliaquest Bowl (Tampa) – Alabama vs. Michigan – Dec. 31 – 11 am CT – ESPN
- Cheez-It Citrus Bowl (Orlando) – South Carolina vs. Illinois – Dec. 31 – 2 pm CT – ABC
- Kinder’s Texas Bowl (Houston) – LSU vs. Baylor – Dec. 31 – 2:30 pm CT – ESPN
- TaxSlayer Gator Bowl (Jacksonville) – Ole Miss vs. Duke – Jan 2 – 6:30 pm CT – ESPN
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com