Texas Southern University received a $25,000 guarantee payment for playing Louisiana State University on Thursday, but the Tigers suffered a historic defeat in the matchup. The game, played on November 5, 2026, resulted in a record-setting loss for Texas Southern, raising questions about the financial trade-off of such guarantee games.
The Texas Southern Tigers faced the LSU Tigers in a non-conference contest that ended with a lopsided scoreline. While the $25,000 payout provides budget relief for the Southwestern Athletic Conference program, the margin of defeat marked the largest in the program's history against an FBS opponent.
Guarantee games, where smaller programs travel to face power-conference teams for a fixed fee, remain a common scheduling strategy. However, the competitive disparity often leads to blowout losses that can affect team morale and player safety.
