2025 Texas Bowl

The 2025 Texas Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 27, 2025, at the NRG Stadium located in Houston, Texas. The 19th annual Texas Bowl game began at approximately 8:15 p.m. CST and aired on ESPN.^[1][2] The Texas Bowl was one of the 2025–26 bowl games concluding the 2025 FBS football season. The game was sponsored by Kinder's, a maker of barbecue sauce and other seasonings, and officially known as the Kinder's Texas Bowl.

The Houston Cougars from the Big 12 Conference defeated the LSU Tigers from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) by a 38–35 score.^[3]

Consistent with conference tie-ins, the game was played between a team from the Big 12 Conference, Houston, and a team from the Southeastern Conference (SEC), LSU. Prior to the Texas Bowl, the teams had played three times, most recently in 2000, with LSU holding a 2–1 edge in the series.^[4]

Houston opened their season with four consecutive wins, then lost to Texas Tech. They won their next three games and had a 7–1 record at the end of October. The Cougars lost two of their four November games—to West Virginia and TCU—and entered the Texas Bowl with a 9–3 record.^[5]

LSU opened their season with a win over fourth-ranked Clemson and also won their next three games. However, four losses in their next five games left them with a record of 5–4 through November 8. The Tigers finished their regular season with two wins in their final three games and entered the Texas Bowl with a 7–5 record.^[6]

• Game statistics at statbroadcast.com