Nussmeier passes for 304 yards and 3 touchdowns as LSU defeats Baylor 44-31 in the Texas Bowl

HOUSTON -- Garrett Nussmeier passed for 304 yards and three touchdowns, leading LSU to a 44-31 victory over Baylor in the Texas Bowl on Tuesday.

Nussmeier completed 24 of 34 passes, including a 10-yard and a 1-yard touchdown to Trey’Dez Green and a 41-yard touchdown to Chris Hilton Jr. LSU (9-4) established a 34-17 lead by halftime.

Nussmeier mentioned that the victory provides LSU a “confidence boost” for the upcoming year.

“Ending the season with a win feels great,” said Nussmeier, who was named the game’s MVP. “It was definitely one of our goals. Coach (Brian) Kelly told us this game marks the start of 2025, so we aimed to make a statement. We discussed having that killer instinct.”

Hilton made four catches for 113 yards and a touchdown. Aaron Anderson caught eight passes for 91 yards for the Tigers, who ended the season with a three-game winning streak. LSU has won three consecutive bowl games.

Kelly expressed satisfaction with how the Tigers concluded 2024.

“Critics might call it disappointing,” he said. “It wasn’t disappointing. We were a team that was less than perfect due to inexperience, but we gained experience. Winning nine games and finishing with three consecutive victories, I’m just happy for our team.”

Sawyer Robertson completed 30 of 51 passes for a career-high 445 yards and two touchdowns for the Bears (8-5), whose six-game winning streak came to an end.

“I thought he fought hard,” Baylor coach Dave Aranda said. “He placed the ball where it needed to be. He was patient under pressure, stepped up in the pocket, took hits, got back up, and rallied the team. I believe his best is yet to come.”

Dawson Pendergrass rushed for 63 yards and two touchdowns, while Josh Cameron caught eight passes for 111 yards and a touchdown.

“This game had too many mistakes,” Aranda said. “It’s unfortunate. We haven’t had a game like this in a while. We usually play complementary football, and this wasn’t it. Eliminating just one mistake could have allowed us to win the game at the end.”

Baylor narrowed the score to 34-24 with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Robertson to Ashtyn Hawkins with six minutes left in the third quarter. After Garmon Randolph intercepted Nussmeier, giving Baylor the ball on the LSU 26, they had a chance to close the gap further.

However, on 4th-and-1 from the LSU 17, a bad snap resulted in a 36-yard loss, and LSU capitalized with Josh Williams scoring on a 4-yard run to start the fourth quarter.