LSU beat Purdue to win the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. What happened, who was the player of the game, and what does it all mean?
LSU 63, Purdue 7 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl What Happened, Player of the Game, What It All Means
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Cheez-It Citrus Bowl What Happened
– LSU totally dominated from the start. It scored the first 49 points with Jayden Daniels finding Mason Taylor for a 32-yard score, Garrett Nussmeier threw two touchdown passes, and with Noah Cain running for two nine-yard scores as part of the barrage. Malik Nabers caught a 75-yard touchdown pass from Nussmeier, and threw a short scoring pass to Daniels on a trick play. LSU did whatever it wanted.
– The Purdue offense didn’t do much of anything until late – it had fewer than 40 yards of total O in the middle of the third quarter. The attack moved a bit in the fourth and finally scored on a TJ Sheffield 16-yard grab, but that was it for the fun. There was a chance to score in the final minute, but LSU’s Quad Wilson took a pick the length of the field to close out the win.
– Four different Boilermakers threw a pass. They were depleted of normal starters, talent, and their head coach, but they were outgained 594 yards to 263. And again, most of Purdue’s yards came late.
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Cheez-It Citrus Bowl Player of the Game
Jayden Daniels, QB LSU
He completed 12-of-17 passes for 139 yards and a score, ran six times for a team-high 67 yards, and he caught a five-yard touchdown pass.
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl Fun Stats
– LSU was 7-of-12 on third downs and 2-of-3 on fourth downs. Purdue was 4-of-18 on third downs and 3-of-7 on fourth downs.
– LSU WR Malik Nabers caught nine passes for 163 yards and a score, and he completed both of his passes for 50 yards and a score.
– The four Purdue quarterbacks completed 19-of-42 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown with three picks.
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl What It All Means
LSU closed out a terrific first season under Brian Kelly with a tenth win – the program’s first double-digit winning campaign since the national title run in 2019.
Coming off the 11-12 run since the CFP championship, and after the loss to Florida State to start the season, LSU still beat Alabama, got to the SEC Championship, and showed the potential to take a giant leap forward now that Kelly and staff have settled in.
Last year’s Texas Bowl might have been missing – way too many starters were missing in the loss – and now it won four of its last five bowls and six of its last eight and since 2000, 15-7.
Purdue was obviously a shell of its 2022 self. The program is in a reboot after losing head coach Jeff Brohm to Louisville and with Ryan Walters set to take over, and it looked like it. It was missing way too many starters and key parts to deal with a team as deep and talented as LSU. It couldn’t do anything until the competitive aspect was long, long over.
Even with this loss, it was the first time the program came up with back-to-back winning seasons since 2006 and 2007. In bowls, Purdue is 4-3 in 2007.
