LSU Tigers fans have unexpected silver lining to look to following disappointing Texas Bowl loss to Houston
Trey’Dez Green and Davhon Keys headline star performances from young players for LSU Tigers as Lane Kiffin era begins
The LSU Tigers’ 2025 college football season was a colossal meltdown of a disappointment, and Saturday’s 38-35 Texas Bowl loss to Houston was the cherry on top of the bittersweet mess.
Bitter, because LSU finished with a 7-6 overall record in a season where they were supposed to push for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Sweet, because they finally parted ways with Brian Kelly and added Lane Kiffin as their new head coach. Plus, there was certainly at least a silver lining or two to take away from the loss on Saturday.
Trey’Dez Green leads young offensive stars in LSU loss to Houston
Lane Kiffin and his staff will need to make sure that they do everything they can to retain the most talented players on LSU’s roster in the coming weeks, but if Saturday’s loss to Houston is any indication the Tigers still have some extremely talented young players. That should give LSU fans something to look forward to despite all the failures from this season that could leave a bitter taste in the mouths of many.
One of the most important playmakers that should help Kiffin and LSU build an extremely bright future in the near-term is 6-7 tight end Trey’Dez Green. He was perhaps the brightest of spots in LSU’s loss Saturday. Green is still just a true sophomore, but he has the ball skills and build of a professional tight end already. He finished the game against Houston with four receptions for 80 yards and two touchdowns — including the ridiculous grab in the post below where he hauled the ball in with one hand, fell to the ground on top of a defender, and still held on for the score.
It wasn’t just Green that shined amid the loss on Saturday either. Wide receiver Kyle Parker (who has struggled to truly breakout due to injuries) put together his best game ever with seven catches for 68 yards and a score. Harlem Berry looked as explosive as ever at running back, despite his mistake that led to a fumble for LSU. Michael Van Buren tossed three touchdowns, making his case for future trust and consideration at quarterback for the Tigers. There were lots of promising offensive performances from young players.
Davhon Keys shines alongside fun young defensive core for LSU Tigers
It wasn’t just the offense either. Yes, the Tigers gave up 38 points on the game, so the defense could have played a bit more sound. However, there were a handful of impressive showings, none more so perhaps than linebacker Davhon Keys. Keys had already broken out a bit this season at linebacker with Whit Weeks. On Saturday, he tallied nearly 15 total tackles by himself, defended some passes, and looked like a strong linebacker of the future (he’s just a second year player).
Cornerbacks DJ Pickett and PJ Woodland didn’t play perfectly, but they both showed off their great range, athleticism, and tackling ability on Saturday. both could be strong defensive backs to build around in 2026. Quite a few other young players who hadn’t seen the field much this year looked decent too on defense.
Yes, the cupboards might start to empty out with some more transfer announcements here soon, but Lane Kiffin clearly has a lot of talent on this LSU team to work with early on. If the majority of them choose to stay the ceiling for the LSU Tigers looks like it could be quite high in 2026 and beyond under new, far more competent, management.
We’ll be back with more LSU Tigers coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
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