Five things to know about the Purdue Boilermakers ahead of Monday’s Citrus Bowl
LSU and Purdue will face off in the Citrus Bowl on Monday.
It’s the first meeting in the history of the two programs, and both squads are coming off losses in conference championship games This game will be impacted by opt-outs and the transfer portal, but Purdue could suffer more than LSU as the Boilermakers are without several of their top offensive players.
Purdue will also be led by an interim coach. After years of rumors, Jeff Brohm finally bounced in favor of his alma mater Louisville. This will be LSU’s first trip to the Citrus Bowl since 2017, where the Tigers lost in the final minutes to Brian Kelly’s Notre Dame.
The program is in a transition period
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Purdue is in the midst of a coaching transition. Brohm is off to Louisville, and the Boilermakers have turned to Ryan Walters, most recently Illinois’ defensive coordinator.
Brian Brohm, Jeff’s brother, will serve as interim head coach in the bowl game. Purdue will be without defensive coordinator Ron English, too, as he followed Brohm to Louisville.
The early return on Walters has been good. Walters tabbed Graham Harrell to be his offensive coordinator and landed Hudson Card, one of the top quarterbacks in the portal.
But Walters, Harrell, and Card won’t be able to help Purdue until next fall. The team and staff that will be put out there on Monday will look a lot different from the Purdue of the regular season.
Purdue season summary
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The Boilermakers began the year 2-2 but didn’t secure a Power Five win until October. However, that victory was part of a four-game win streak that put Purdue at 5-2. It followed that up with back-to-back losses to Wisconsin and Iowa but rebounded to win the Big Ten West.
Purdue dropped the Big Ten title to Michigan, but it scored 22 and looked respectable. The Boilermakers are 8-5 and will be looking to win a bowl game in back-to-back years for the first time since the late 90s.
Opt out and injury report
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Along with Brohm and English, Purdue will be missing some of its top players. On the offensive side, it will be without veteran QB Aidan O’Connell and its two top pass catchers, including the Big Ten’s leading receiver Charlie Jones and tight end Payne Durham.
All three received all-conference honors and are prepping for the NFL draft. Left guard Spencer Holstege, who didn’t allow a sack all year, is transferring to UCLA. Purdue’s best defender, corner Cory Trice, has begun his draft preparation along with starting linebacker Jalen Graham.
Players to Watch
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A lot of those opt outs would have been mentioned here, so Purdue will be counting on guys to step up.
RB Devin Mockobee
Mockobee was an honorable mention for all-conference honors. He had 1,168 yards from scrimmage to go along with nine total touchdowns. He had four 100-yard rushing games this year and did solid work as a pass catcher too. He’s by far Purdue’s most productive player suiting up on Monday, so expect their offense to run through him.
DE Jack Sullivan
Sullivan is in the portal but will play on Monday. He was Purdue’s top pass rusher this fall with 35 pressures and five sacks.
WR TJ Sheffield
With Jones and Durham out, Purdue will have to throw it to someone. Sheffield is the remaining leading receiver and was once committed to Kelly at Notre Dame. He has 424 yards on the season and has caught 79 passes in his four years with the Boilermakers.
How does LSU matchup with Purdue?
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This appears to be a good matchup for LSU. There’s nothing Purdue does exceptionally well that could exploit any of LSU’s faults.
Purdue’s defense is decent against the run, but not as good as LSU’s offense is at running the ball. Purdue’s defense ranks 75th in yards/pass allowed. LSU’s offense is 20 spots higher at 55th.
When Purdue has the ball, it’s hard to even use numbers to make sense of anything considering the unit will be without four of its five best players. LSU’s defense has some opt-outs too, so that matchup could come down too whoever’s young guys step up.
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