The Tigers’ hopes of reaching the New Year’s Six in the first season under coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] were dashed by a pair of losses to end the season, but the consolation prize is still solid.
LSU will head to Orlando to take on Purdue in the Citrus Bowl in a matchup between conference runners-up. This will be the Tigers’ sixth appearance in the Citrus Bowl and first-ever matchup against the Boilermakers.
At full strength, this would likely be one of the most interesting matchups in all of bowl season. However, LSU will be without several key players — namely edge rusher [autotag]BJ Ojulari[/autotag] — while Purdue will be without a number of starters including quarterback Aidan O’Connell.
It will also be without head coach Jeff Brohm, who recently left to take the head coaching job at Louisville.
With this context, it’s not a surprise that this game ranked near the middle of the pack in USA TODAY Sports’ Eddie Timanus‘ rankings of every bowl game by watchability. LSU’s came in at 18th.
Neither of these teams were expected to win their conference championship games against playoff-bound powers, but their most recent performances were disappointing nonetheless. Despite LSU’s late struggles, Purdue enters as the underdog, and the disruption of a coaching change undoubtedly hasn’t helped the Boilermakers’ preparations.
The Tigers still have the opportunity to reach the 10-win mark in Kelly’s first campaign, and beating the Big Ten West champion would be a solid way to end the season. LSU faces Purdue at Camping World Stadium on Jan. 2.
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