No. 16 LSU and Purdue will play each other in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 2 in Orlando, Florida. The Tigers fell 50-30 to top-ranked Georgia in the SEC championship.
The Boilermakers won their first Big Ten West title but lost 43-22 to No. 2 Michigan in the league title game.
The ball figures to go through the air a lot with Purdue ranked 17th in passing. LSU is ranked 38th.
The two teams will be meeting for the first time.
GAME NOTES:
No. 16 LSU (9-4, SEC) vs. Purdue (8-5, Big Ten)
DATE AND TIME: Jan. 2, 12 p.m.
LOCATION: Orlando, Florida
TV: WGNO/ABC
TOP PLAYERS
LSU: WR Malik Nabers has 854 yards receiving on 63 catches, including a team-high 128 on five receptions in the SEC title game.
Purdue: QB Aiden O’Connell, a sixth-year senior, is one of nine signal-callers to pass for at least 6,500 yards and 50 touchdowns since the start of 2021. That included 366 yards against Michigan in the Big Ten title game loss.
NOTABLE
LSU: Initially picked to finish fifth in the SEC West, the Tigers instead won the division, reached No. 6 in the AP Top 25 and topped favorite Alabama 32-31 in overtime along the way. They lost 50-30 to top-ranked Georgia in the Southeastern Conference Championship game but gained 529 yards and hung the most points this season against the nation’s No. 2 scoring defense.
Purdue: The Boilermakers won their first Big Ten West title before losing to No. 2 Michigan 43-22 in the championship game.
LAST TIME
First meeting.
BOWL HISTORY
LSU: The Tigers are 29-24-1 in bowls and 2-3 in the Citrus.
Purdue: The Boilermakers are making their first appearance in the Citrus Bowl since falling 34-27 in overtime to Georgia in 2004, then known as the Capital One Bowl. They are 11-9 overall, including last season’s 48-45 OT win over Tennessee in the Music City Bowl.
