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  • Baylor football earns 12th bowl bid in 15 years, will face LSU in Texas Bowl

    // Posted In Athletics, Honors

    Baylor Football is Bowl Bound -- Texas Bowl, Dec. 31, 2:30 p.m.

    For the 12th time in 15 years, Baylor football is going bowling! The Bears will face LSU in the Kinder’s Texas Bowl on Dec. 31 (2:30 p.m., ESPN) at NRG Stadium, home of the NFL’s Houston Texans.

    Baylor enters the bowl with an 8-4 record and riding a six-game winning streak — the fifth-longest active streak in the country. The Bears’ offense ranks 21st nationally in points per game, led by junior quarterback Sawyer Robertson (third in the Big 12 in passing TDs and TD/INT ratio) and freshman running back Bryson Washington (sixth in the Big 12 in rushing TDs and rushing yards/game).

    Baylor’s defense is anchored by a pair of first-team All-Big 12 linebackers in senior Matt Jones and sophomore Keaton Thomas. The two were joined on the all-conference first team by junior Josh Cameron (kick/punt returner) and sophomore Palmer Williams (punter).

    LSU comes in with the same record as the Bears (8-4), but having lost three of their last five games since reaching No. 8 in the country in late October. LSU is led by junior QB Garrett Nussmeier, a finalist for the Manning Award who ranks among the top 15 nationally in passing yards and passing touchdowns.

    In the all-time series, LSU leads Baylor, 8-3 — but the Bears have triumphed both times the teams have previously met in bowl games. BU beat LSU 14-7 in the 1963 Bluebonnet Bowl (also played in Houston, at Rice Stadium), and 21-7 in the 1985 Liberty Bowl. Baylor came from behind in both games, led by a pair of Baylor Hall of Fame quarterbacks in Don Trull (1963) and Cody Carlson (1985).

    This will be the fourth time in Baylor’s last five bowl appearances that the Bears have been matched up against an SEC opponent; Baylor has won two of the previous three, beating Vanderbilt in the Texas Bowl (2018) and Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl (2022). It’s also the Bears’ third bowl appearance in head coach Dave Aranda’s five seasons since coming to Baylor from — yep, LSU.

    BaylorBears.com’s Bowl Central is your best site for info about the game. Tickets are available through the Texas Bowl website. (Note: Baylor is designated as the visiting team and will occupy the east sideline.) Baylor Alumni is working on events in Houston around the game; stay tuned for more details on that. Fans can find details on other events surrounding the game on the Texas Bowl website.

    Need something new to wear? Bowl gear (and other Baylor football paraphernalia) is available now through the Baylor Bookstore.

    Sic ’em, bowl-bound Bears!