Texas Bowl by the numbers: LSU vs. Baylor

Kinder’s Texas Bowl

LSU (8-4) vs. Baylor (8-4)

2:30 p.m. CST Tuesday (ESPN)

NRG Stadium in Houston

2 Previous appearances apiece for Baylor and LSU in the Texas Bowl. Baylor lost to Illinois 38-14 on Dec. 29, 2010, and defeated Vanderbilt 45-38 on Dec. 27, 2018. LSU defeated Texas Tech 56-17 on Dec. 29, 2015, and lost to Kansas State 42-20 on Jan. 4, 2022.

2 First-team All-Big 12 inside linebackers for Baylor in 2024 – Matt Jones and Keaton Thomas. Thomas has 107 tackles and Jones has 103 this season.

4 Players in the nation have at least 525 receiving yards and 240 punt-return yards this season, including Baylor WR Josh Cameron. Cameron’s average of 20.7 yards per punt return is the best in the nation for any player with at least 14 returns, and he has 44 receptions for 643 yards and nine TDs this season.

4 Seasons as LSU’s defensive coordinator for Dave Aranda before he became Baylor’s head coach in 2020.

6 Consecutive victories for Baylor. Since a 43-21 loss to Iowa State that dropped the Bears to 2-4, Baylor has beaten Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, TCU, West Virginia, Houston and Kansas. The Bears have never finished a season with seven consecutive wins.

6 Victories and eight losses for LSU in bowls against opponents from the Big 12 and its ancestral conferences. The meetings started with a 35-0 loss to Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 23, 1950, and continued most recently with a 42-20 loss to Kansas State in the Texas Bowl on Jan. 4, 2022. LSU has a 13-10-1 overall record against Big 12 opponents.

10 Consecutive Texas Bowls have matched SEC and Big 12 teams, including Tuesday’s game. Oklahoma State defeated Texas A&M 31-23 in last season’s game to boost the Big 12’s winning streak to three games and lift its record to 6-3 in the meetings with the SEC. The Big 12 has an 8-6 overall record in the Texas Bowl. The SEC is 3-6.

14 Victories and 13 losses for Baylor in bowls. The Bears lost to Air Force 30-15 in the Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 22, 2022, in their most recent bowl appearance.

16 Victories, 18 losses and two ties for Baylor against SEC opponents. The Bears played an SEC opponent for the first time on Nov. 13, 1948, when Tulane defeated Baylor 35-13. The Bears’ most recent meeting with an SEC opponent came on Jan. 1, 2022, when Baylor beat Ole Miss 21-7 in the Sugar Bowl. Baylor has a 5-5 record against SEC teams in bowls. The Bears will open the 2025 season against Auburn, another SEC member.

17 Of Baylor QB Sawyer Robertson’s 2024 total of 26 TD passes have come during the Bears’ current six-game winning streak. Robertson has completed 199-of-317 passes for 2,626 yards with 26 TDs and seven interceptions this season, which he started at No. 2 on the depth chart.

30 Victories, 24 losses and one tie for LSU in bowls. The Tigers defeated Wisconsin 35-31 in last season’s ReliaQuest Bowl.

38 Consensus All-Americans in LSU history, including offensive left tackle Will Campbell in the 2024 season. Campbell has opted out of the Texas Bowl, as has Emery Jones, the Tigers’ starter at right tackle.

39 Years since the previous meeting between Baylor and LSU. The Bears beat the Tigers 21-7 in the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 27, 1985, for their third victory in 11 games against LSU. The teams have one other bowl meeting: Baylor beat LSU 14-7 in the Bluebonnet Bowl on Dec. 21, 1963.

261 Passing yards are needed by LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier to record the second 4,000-yard season in school history. Joe Burrow holds the Tigers’ single-season record with 5,671 passing yards for LSU’s undefeated CFP national-championship team in 2019. Nussmeier has completed 313-of-491 passes for 3,739 yards with 26 TDs and 11 interceptions.

395 Passing yards for LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier in his first start – a 35-31 victory over Wisconsin in last season’s ReliaQuest Bowl. Including that game, Nussmeier has thrown for 1,766 yards with 16 TDs in his five starts against non-conference opponents, who have included Southern Cal, Nicholls, UCLA and South Alabama in 2024.

1,004 Rushing yards for Baylor RB Bryson Washington in 2024, the most for a freshman in school history. Washington had 12 TDs among his 170 rushing attempts this season. LSU’s leading rusher also is a freshman. RB Caden Durham has 693 yards and six TDs on 127 carries this season for the Tigers.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.