(Photo credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images)

LSU and No. 21 Houston enter the Texas Bowl from vastly different positions.The Tigers (7-5) are going through a head-coaching transition, adjusting to opt-outs from key players and finishing out a disappointing season.The Cougars (9-3) are building stability in head coach Willie Fritz's second season, have virtually no opt-outs and are excited to be finishing their season in their home city Saturday night.LSU began the season with dreams of reaching the CFP and were ranked as high as No. 3, but three losses in four games led to the firing of head coach Brian Kelly in midseason.The Tigers recently lured Lane Kiffin away from Ole Miss to succeed Kelly, but Kiffin won't be coaching in the bowl game. He's busy working on next season while interim head coach Frank Wilson finishes his stint before beginning a new job as an assistant at Ole Miss.'The priority is our current football team,' Wilson said. 'There's a 2025 team that I've been a part of from the beginning that has one more game to finish.'Wilson said he expects to have 'the lion's share' of players available although key players including quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, consensus All-America cornerback Mansoor Delane, star linebackers Whit Weeks and Harold Perkins as well as starting wide receiver Aaron Anderson have opted out.Despite the absences for the finale, Wilson said the Tigers never considered not playing in a bowl and that he has high expectations for the players who will participate.'It's important to finish what we started the right way,' Wilson said. 'I think any time you put our brand on the field it garners excitement. I think any time you wear that helmet there's an expectation and standard of going out and playing with high enthusiasm and fierce effort. I think you'll get that from our football team.'LSU will be counting on quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. to lead the way. Van Buren started the final three games of the regular season while Nussmeier was injured and completed 62.4% of his passes for 743 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions in 2025.The Tigers' offense will be tested by a Houston defense led by Carlos Allen Jr., who leads FBS interior linemen with 75 tackles.

Van Buren's counterpart Conner Weigman has 21 passing touchdowns, 11 rushing scores and nine interceptions while completing 64% of his passes.

Fritz said he and his staff 'realize there will be a lot going on in January' when the transfer portal opens, but for now 'we have everybody available for this game. We're 'pretty darn healthy.'The Cougars were the only FBS team to go 6-0 in road games during the regular season, but they won't have to travel as they seek their first 10-win campaign since 2021.'There aren't many teams in the country that get double-digit wins,' Fritz said. 'That's always a goal for every team. We just want to finish what we've started with this football team.'

--Field Level Media