Hello, Dave
LSU knows its bowl destination.
The Tigers will conclude its 2024 season in Houston against Baylor in the Texas Bowl. The game will be on December 31 and kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 P.M. It’s the first time LSU’s played in the Texas Bowl since the infamous 2021 game against Kansas State when Jontre Kirklin started at quarterback.
Waiting for LSU will be the Baylor Bears, led by former LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda. Aranda was, of course, LSU’s defensive coordinator from 2016 through 2019 and helped the Tigers win the national championship in 2019.
Since leaving LSU for Baylor, Aranda’s tenure at Baylor has had high highs and low lows. Aranda was 2-9 in 2020, his first year as head coach, before rebounding in a big way in 2021. Aranda’s Bears went 12-2, won the Sugar Bowl and finished ranked 5th in the final AP Poll that season.
Baylor opened 2022 as the preseason No. 10 team but stumbled to a 6-7 finish and a loss in the Armed Forced Bowl. The bottom really fell out for Aranda last season when his Bears went 3-9.
Things looked grim for Aranda midway through this season as Baylor was 2-4 heading into its bye week after losing to Iowa State 43-21. Since then the Bears have won six in a row and are going bowling for the third time under Aranda.
This will be the 12th time LSU and Baylor have played, and the first since the two met in the 1985 Liberty Bowl. Baylor won that game 21-7, but LSU has won eight of the 11 matchups. The two programs met six times between 1959 and 1970, with LSU winning four of the six games.