ESPN predicts outcome of LSU’s Citrus Bowl matchup against Purdue
The Tigers are still searching for their first bowl win since walking off the field at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans as national champions in January of 2020.
LSU returned to a bowl last fall after missing one in the 2020 season, but the shorthanded team led by interim coach Brad Davis was no match for Kansas State in the Texas Bowl.
The Tigers will hope to get back in the win column this time around when it travels to Orlando to take on a fellow conference runner-up in Purdue, which lost to Michigan in the Big Ten title game last weekend.
In his predictions for each bowl game, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg gave the Tigers the slight edge, in spite of potential opt-outs.
The SEC and Big Ten championship game runners up meet in Orlando, where Purdue hasn’t played since the 2004 game. Purdue shouldn’t be overly impacted by opt-outs, while LSU always has a group who must decide if they want to participate in a non-CFP bowl. Purdue showed last year it could outscore an SEC team in a bowl. Coach Jeff Brohm will employ an aggressive game plan with quarterback Aidan O’Connell, wide receiver Charlie Jones and the offense, but LSU is a much better defense than Tennessee was last season and the Boilers will fall just short.
Prediction: LSU 31, Purdue 27
The Boilermakers finished the regular season at 8-5, but a 6-3 record in conference play was enough for Jeff Brohm’s team to emerge from the messy Big Ten West.
As Rittenberg mentions, this isn’t a Purdue program that’s accustomed to playing in high-level bowl games, and it is less likely to be impacted by opt-outs, which could prove to be something of an equalizer. Still, Rittenberg thinks Matt House’s defense gives LSU the edge.
The Tigers face the Boilermakers at Camping World Stadium on Jan. 2, 2023.
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