HOUSTON — Well, anyway, at least LSU got a postseason participation trophy.

Not much else went right for the depleted Tigers.

Or maybe it was just fuel for the fire amongst those saying there are too many bowls.

The TaxAct Texas Bowl — the last bowl before Monday’s national championship finishes the season — was certainly one more than LSU could handle Tuesday.

Not that it should have been a surprise.

But Kansas State all but toyed with what few Tigers LSU had left for the affair while dominating from start to finish in a 42-20 victory.

LSU, which finished 6-7 for its first losing season since 1999, will pick up the pieces as Brian Kelly takes over the program after being hired away from Notre Dame five weeks ago.

Maybe he saw what was coming in the last game before he starts rebuilding the program.

Replenishing the roster might be a start.

By the time of Tuesday’s 8 p.m. kickoff, LSU was down to 39 scholarship players for all the modern-day reasons — your bowl opt-outs, garden-variety injuries, NFL declarations and, of course, the suddenly über-popular NCAA transfer portal.

But interim head coach Brad Davis promised in advance that there would be no excuses.

So LSU will have to own up to being outgained 442-308 — somewhat misleading since 71 of LSU’s yards came on the final play — and never being the game.

With LSU starting quarterback Max Johnson having transferred, when the NCAA denied normal backup quarterback Garrett Nussmeier’s appeal that the game not count against keeping his redshirt intact for this season, the Tigers were forced to dip into the receiving corps to put junior Jontre Kirklin under center.

Not surprisingly, it did not go well, although Kirklin also led the Tigers with 61 yards rushing.

Kirklin, who hadn’t played the position since 2016 at Lutcher High School, had his first pass intercepted, but ended up with three touchdown passes.

More than half of his 138 yards passing, however, came on the game’s final play when Kirklin ended up with the ball on a double reverse and connected with Chris Hilton for a 71-yard strike as time expired.

But the Tigers ran mostly read-option and wildcat-type plays, although their first touchdown came on Kirklin’s 23-yard pass to Jaray Jenkins just before halftime.

He also connected with Malik Nabors for a 15- yard touchdown pass on a fourth-down gamble late in the game.

But Kirklin threw 11 times, completing seven with two interceptions.

Most of the Tigers’ 170 yards rushing came late with the outcome no longer in doubt.

The predictable tone was set early.

LSU’s patchwork defense was able to get pressure on K-State quarterback Skylar Thompson and held the Wildcats’ run down pretty much at bay.

But LSU’s secondary — down to walk-ons and third-stringers at the corners — was no match as the Wildcats converted 6 of 8 third downs in the first half — and converted fourth downs on the other two.

K-State (8-5) scored on its first three possessions while running 35 plays to six for the Tigers with drives of 11, 18 and six plays.

On the first scoring drive KSU converted third-and-10, third-and-15 (on pass interference) and fourth-and-3 to wide open receivers.

Thompson, who completed 21 of 28 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns, was named the game’s MVP.

Wildcats star Deuce Vaughn, bottled up early, eventually got loose for 146 yards rushing on 21 carries for three touchdowns. He also caught a 2-yard touchdown pass.