A game featuring two surprising participants in their conference championship games, LSU and Purdue enter the Citrus Bowl eclipsing expectations from the preseason. 

While Cheez-It crackers may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of citruses, the matchup should not be overlooked and will be well worth the watch. 

How We Got Here:

LSU:

With Brian Kelly in his first year in Baton Rouge, LSU had no serious expectations going into the season. Many believed it was simply going to be a rebuilding season, just waiting for Kelly to get his recruits into the building until they could really compete. And after the loss in New Orleans to Florida State, the Tigers were written off from any serious consideration to make any noise in the SEC West. Even after being told off by a news reporter that maybe if they won football games they would show up on time to the press conferences, it was evident that even Baton Rouge’s media couldn’t get behind the man. 

The Tigers won four straight before a loss to Tennessee at home, but people still had yet to have any care or reason to watch LSU football. The story of the SEC was Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. ‘Get out Brian Kelly, we are tired of hearing your name’ was the vibe in SEC country. However, one evening in Baton Rouge would turn the tide. 

A victory over the No. 7 Ole Miss Rebels changed the mood in Baton Rouge seemingly overnight. Everything was set up for a clash of the titans between LSU and Alabama. No one would expect LSU to have a chance in this matchup in the preseason, however there is a reason why this game is played on the field rather than on paper. 

Jayden Daniels making plays on the ground and through the air kept the match with Alabama competitive, pushing it to overtime. After an Alabama touchdown, it was Daniels’ time to shine again. On the first play of overtime for the Tigers, Daniels ran it in for a 25-yard touchdown. Rather than kick the extra point, Brian Kelly laid it all on the line and Daniels threw it to true freshman Mason Taylor for the win. Tiger Stadium witnessed history. 

LSU clinched the SEC West title with a win over Arkansas, but the Tigers would not retain the hype they reached that night in Baton Rouge vs. Alabama. A shocking loss in College Station to the hapless Texas A&M Aggies and a blowout loss to Georgia in the SEC Championship Game has the hype feeling as low as it was after that loss to Florida State in New Orleans. 

Purdue:

This season has been full of ups and downs for Purdue as a program, culminating in what could be seen as the most successful year for Purdue since the 2000 Rose Bowl season. Few people predicted Purdue to end up in the Big Ten Championship, but with a road win win in Bloomington to close their regular season, the Boilermakers made it for the first time in school history.

Last season marked what felt like a turning point for Purdue. The team went 9-4 with a Music City Bowl win over Tennessee to cap it off, and fans were happy to see Jeff Brohm reach the offensive play-calling potential that the athletics department had seen at Western Kentucky when it hired him in 2017. The offense was predicated on big throws from then-senior Aidan O’Connell, who started his career at Purdue as a walk-on, but became the starter in 2019. He lost that starting job before the 2021 season, but he won it back after he was able to close out an ugly game against Illinois with a late fourth quarter touchdown pass to WR T.J. Sheffield. O’Connell finished the year with over 3,700 yards passing, and 28 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, concluding with an electric performance in the Music City Bowl where he racked up 534 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions.

Without their undisputed stars, David Bell and George Karlaftis, Purdue was expected to regress in the 2022 season and starting off the year 1-2 with nail-biting losses to Penn State and Syracuse. Fans called for Brohm to be fired after the season opener, as his decisions to keep passing the ball while leading late in the fourth quarter stuck in many fans’ minds as the only explanation for a four-point loss to the team that would eventually represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl. The defense was still a liability, which it had been since long before many of Purdue’s players were even born, but the offense looked potent nonetheless. A last-second loss to Syracuse cemented another sub-.500 season in the thoughts of many fans and students.

Purdue would go on to win seven of its last nine regular season games, with five of those by a single score. After the home game against Nebraska was the time that most of Purdue’s fan base began to feel legitimately confident in the team. The Boilermakers had won four straight games and were going into Madison to play a 3-4 Badgers team that had looked entirely beatable. The issue was that they overlooked the location. Purdue hadn’t beaten Wisconsin in Madison since 2003, and that streak would continue. A bye week, followed by what is possibly the worst Purdue home game in the last two seasons (a 24-3 loss to Iowa) deflated the team’s hopes at a Big Ten West title. But something would happen in Champaign just a few hours after Purdue’s loss to Iowa that changed its trajectory completely: Michigan State beat No. 14 Illinois.

The following week, Purdue and its fans went to Memorial Stadium (no, not that one) to play the now-21st ranked Illini in a game in which the Boilermakers were six-point underdogs. The Boilermakers would win that game led by their fearless leader, a walk-on who broke out and revolutionized the way Purdue’s offense would play for the rest of the season. That’s right, Devin Mockobee. Oh, you thought Aidan O’Connell would be the hero of this story? Not really. He had a great season, but it was the other Purdue offensive walk-on who shined brightest in Brohm’s schemes. With Illinois losing three of its final four games, and Purdue winning in weeks 11, 12, and 13, Purdue gained a conference title berth for the first time in school history. The Boilermakers then proceeded to more or less lay down and take the beating that was expected by second-ranked Michigan.

Players to Watch:

LSU:

#8 WR Malik Nabers — While Kayshon Boutte may have received all of the hype as an NFL draft prospect, Malik Nabers is the one who leads the team in receiving yards. 

The true sophomore is finishing the 2022 season on a strong note, with at least 128 receiving yards in two of his last three games and is slowly emerging as Daniels’ favorite target for 2023. 

With Boutte off to the NFL draft, Nabers will have many opportunities against a Purdue defense that was among the worst against the pass in the Big Ten. 

#40 LB Harold Perkins — Arguably the best true freshman in college football, Harold Perkins exploded on the scene just like how he explodes through offensive lines. 

Perkins has recorded at least one tackle for loss in every game since Week 8 and compiled 7.5 sacks this year. He really shocked the college football world when he recorded four sacks against Arkansas in Week 11.

It is unfair that he will still be terrorizing defenses for at least two more seasons after this bowl game. Will Anderson Jr. may have just passed the torch to Perkins for most terrifying player in college football. 

Purdue:

#45 RB Devin Mockobee — It seems obvious that the guy I touted as the “hero” of Purdue’s season would be on here, but with O’Connell, Charlie Jones, and Payne Durham all opting out of the Citrus Bowl, there really isn’t anyone else on the offense to watch. Mockobee rushed for 920 yards as a redshirt freshman, tacking on 248 receiving yards, and nine total touchdowns as well. For a team that had only one 100-yard rushing performance since 2020, he was certainly a pleasant surprise, and it seems fitting that new head coach Ryan Walters’ first act as head coach was to award “Crazy Legs” a full-ride scholarship to ensure he completes his mechanical engineering technology degree in West Lafayette.

#10 SAF Cam Allen/#1 CB Reese Taylor — There really isn’t a standout guy to put here. Kydran Jenkins has been a fun edge rusher to watch but likely won’t pop off your screen in any meaningful way during the game. Cam Allen, however, will make it impossible for you to miss him. He will either make one of the best jumps on a ball that you’ve ever seen, or get turned around in zone coverage and burned for a 30-yard gain. The same goes doubly for Reese Taylor, Purdue’s CB2 who couldn’t keep himself off of highlight reels this year, mostly for opposing teams. He did, however, make arguably the most acrobatic play by any Purdue player this year with this interception of Nebraska’s Casey Thompson: 

What an interception by Reese Taylor #Purdue pic.twitter.com/UWOfDM6dl2

— Clinton Cole (@cdcole55) October 16, 2022

Score Predictions:

Andrew: I truthfully don’t know how this game is going to stay close. Jeff Brohm has left for Louisville and Jayden Daniels has announced he is returning in 2023. People might want to send a prayer to Austin Burton as he will see Harold Perkins in his nightmares for days. LSU 38, Purdue 17.

Kaegan: Purdue goes into this game as a 15-point dog, and I can see why. LSU has an offense that matches up well with Purdue’s weak secondary and front seven without Jack Sullivan or Jalen Graham, but Purdue’s rushing offense will look to exploit LSU’s middling rush defense. I predict LSU will be able to score on Purdue’s defense at will, but that Purdue will keep it close in this one. Purdue’s lack of a passing attack without O’Connell or its top two receiving threats will be the fatal flaw in this matchup. LSU 33, Purdue 27.