Coogs Prepare for LSU in Texas Bowl
BY Garrett Ross | 365 Sports
Houston (9-3, 6-3) found itself ranked No. 21 in the final College Football Playoff rankings on Sunday. The Coogs finished the regular season with eleven different players earning All-Big 12 honors, including duo tight end Tanner Koziel and receiver Amare Thomas being first team selections.
The Big 12 will be represented by eight programs during this bowl season, following Kansas State and Iowa State’s decisions to opt out. The league fined the Cyclones and Wildcats each $500,000 for their decision, while Baylor elected not to attend the JLab Birmingham Bowl as an alternate against Georgia State.
Houston will remain in H-Town and face LSU (7-5, 3-5) in the Kinders Texas Bowl at NRG Stadium on Saturday, December 27th at 8:15 p.m. CT. The Coogs and Tigers have squared off three times previously, all in Baton Rouge, and LSU leads the series 2-1.
Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle reported that the Coogs had an opportunity to play in the Alamo Bowl against USC, but they were passed over for TCU because the Houston fan base doesn’t travel well. While that is less than ideal, hopefully, head coach Willie Fritz can change that culture in the process of making Houston a regular threat to compete for Big 12 Championships.
Fritz was rewarded with a $50,000 bonus for helping the Coogs become bowl eligible, which brings his incentive earnings this season to $400,000. Houston has an opportunity for double-digit wins with a defeat of LSU, but it won’t be an easy task to take down the Tigers.
One benefit Houston will have is that its players aren’t expected to opt out, while LSU will have plenty of players elect not to play. While competing in the Texas Bowl is a nice opportunity for the Coogs, it’s another disappointment for LSU, which defeated Baylor in the Texas Bowl last season, 44-31.
When asked about the status of his roster heading into the Texas Bowl, Fritz responded, “I don’t expect any of our players to opt out.”
LSU has the opposite problem as Houston, with players already entering the transfer portal and a new coaching staff that isn’t sure yet on how they plan to approach the matchup. Head coach Lane Kiffin was asked whether he would be coaching in the Texas Bowl and how he would approach it.
“I don’t know if I can get into it. There’s so many things. We’re still in the process of figuring things out here,” said Kiffin. “Frank (Wilson) will continue to act as head coach for the team in the Texas Bowl. There’s a lot of complicated moving parts, but we’ll definitely have that answer soon.”
The ESPN FPI early prediction gives Houston a 32.6 percent chance of winning, while LSU has a 67.4 percent chance. Houston’s last appearance in the Texas Bowl was a 20-13 loss to TCU in 2007, while LSU will be making its fourth appearance in the bowl game.