NCAAF

LSU Tigers at Purdue Boilermakers

· Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
10-4, 3-1 Away
Final
63 - 7
8-6, 4-2 Home

Nabers helps No. 16 LSU rout Purdue 63-7 in Citrus Bowl

Malik Nabers made a bid to join those names on Monday, when he threw for a touchdown, caught one and had 163 yards receiving in the No. 16 Tigers' 63-7 rout of Purdue in the Citrus Bowl.

“That's kind of the mantle of LSU wide receivers,” Tigers coach Brian Kelly said of Nabers, who was the game's MVP. “It's his opportunity now, and you can see that he wanted to make sure that he made a statement out there today.”

LSU never trailed, recording 594 yards of offense and concluding the scoring with Quad Wilson's 99-yard interception return for a touchdown.

The Tigers (10-4) finished with at least 10 wins for the first time since the 2019 season, when Joe Burrow, Chase and Jefferson led undefeated LSU to a national title.

The Boilermakers (8-6) were led by interim coach Brian Brohm after his brother, Jeff, left at the end of the regular season to take Louisville’s head coaching job. Ryan Walters, formerly the defensive coordinator at Illinois, will now take over as Purdue's coach.

Purdue had an up-and-down year, starting 1-2 before rallying to win the Big Ten West and reach the conference title game, where it lost 43-22 to Michigan. The Boilermakers were playing in their first Citrus Bowl.

“I feel like the program is in a good spot,” Brian Brohm said. “Coach Walters is gonna inherit a program of guys that are tough, want to play hard and want to win. I hope that he's able to keep it going and take it to the next level.”

LSU, after a year in which it beat Alabama and reached the Southeastern Conference title game, controlled the game from the start. And nothing changed when starting quarterback Jayden Daniels was relieved by backup Garrett Nussmeier. After punting on their first drive, the Tigers scored touchdowns on seven of their next eight possessions to take a 49-0 lead.

Daniels led four scoring drives, going 12 of 17 for 139 yards and a touchdown. He also had 67 yards rushing and caught the TD pass from Nabers.

Nussmeier finished 11 of 15 for 173 yards and two TDs. He threw a second-half interception, but LSU was already leading 42-0 at the time and the Tigers' defense followed by forcing a three-and-out.

Nabers, LSU's leading receiver this season, had season highs in yards and catches (nine), and his TD toss wasn't even his most impressive pass of the day. After running wide on a jet sweep, he threw an on-target deep ball to Kyren Lacy for a 45-yard completion that set up a touchdown in the first half.

After the game, he first lamented three passes he felt he should have caught. Still, he has high hopes for next season.

“This performance shows that I'm able to come out here and perform at a high level with anybody,” Nabers said.

John Emery Jr. had a 1-yard TD rush, Derrick Davis Jr. had a 12-yard rushing score and Noah Cain had two rushing TDs, which gave the Tigers a school-record 39 rushing TDs for the year.

Austin Burton made his third career start at quarterback for the Boilermakers in place of Aidan O’Connell, who opted out to prepare for the NFL draft. Burton completed 12 of 24 passes for 74 yards with an interception.

Michael Alaimo relieved Burton in the second half and threw a 16-yard TD pass to T.J. Sheffield. Alaimo finished 4 of 11 for 31 yards with an interception.

Purdue crossed midfield four times. The first was on a drive set up by a fake punt, but that ended when Burton threw a pick. The other three ended in a touchdown, interception and turnover on downs. Purdue’s first nine possessions resulted in six punts and three turnovers.

SCARY INJURY

Purdue receiver Deion Burks took a scary hit and had his head stabilized as he was loaded onto a stretcher, carted off the field and taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center. Burks flashed a thumbs-up on his way off the field, and Purdue officials told ABC reporters that he had movement in his extremities.

THE TAKEAWAY

LSU: The Tigers were without several players, including Boutte, who recently declared for the NFL draft, but their success demonstrated the program's depth. LSU had 27 first downs and was 6 of 7 in the red zone.

Purdue: The Boilermakers were outmatched with a roster depleted by opt-outs. Purdue had just 17 first downs.

UP NEXT

LSU: Plays Florida State in Orlando on Sept. 3 to start the 2023 season.

Purdue: Hosts Fresno State on Sept. 2.

How To Watch

How can I watch LSU Tigers vs. Purdue Boilermakers?
  • TV Channel: Tigers at Boilermakers 2021 College Football, week 1, is broadcasted on ABC.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Boilermakers: 31.6%
Tigers: 68.4%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

LSU TD 1st Period 7:01 John Emery Jr. 1 Yd Run (Damian Ramos Kick)
LSU TD 1st Period 1:06 Noah Cain 9 Yd Run (Damian Ramos Kick)
LSU TD 2nd Period 13:03 Mason Taylor 32 Yd pass from Jayden Daniels (Damian Ramos Kick)
LSU TD 2nd Period 8:23 Noah Cain 9 Yd Run (Damian Ramos Kick)
LSU TD 2nd Period 1:07 Brian Thomas Jr. 10 Yd pass from Garrett Nussmeier (Damian Ramos Kick)
LSU TD 3rd Period 9:21 Jayden Daniels 5 Yd pass from Malik Nabers (Damian Ramos Kick)
LSU TD 3rd Period 3:15 Malik Nabers 75 Yd pass from Garrett Nussmeier (Damian Ramos Kick)
PUR TD 4th Period 13:53 TJ Sheffield 16 Yd pass from Michael Alaimo (Mitchell Fineran Kick)
LSU TD 4th Period 8:47 Derrick Davis Jr. 12 Yd Run (Ezekeal Mata Kick)
LSU TD 4th Period 0:40 Quad Wilson 99 Yd Interception Return (Trey Finison Kick)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/99.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originLSU https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/2509.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originPUR
28 1st Downs 16
8-12 3rd down efficiency 4-18
1-2 4th down efficiency 3-7
589 Total Yards 263
369 Passing 169
27-38 Comp-Att 19-42
9.7 Yards per pass 4.0
220 Rushing 94
31 Rushing Attempts 36
7.1 Yards per rush 2.6
8-77 Penalties 5-35
1 Turnovers 3
0 Fumbles lost 0
1 Interceptions thrown 3
29:23 Possession 30:37

Game Information

Venue: Camping World Stadium

Location: Orlando, FL
Attendance: 42,791 · Capacity:

SEC - East

TEAM OVR CONF
Georgia 13-1 8-0
Missouri 11-2 6-2
Tennessee 9-4 4-4
Kentucky 7-6 3-5
Florida 5-7 3-5
South Carolina 5-7 3-5
Vanderbilt 2-10 0-8

SEC - West

TEAM OVER CONF
Alabama 12-2 8-0
Ole Miss 11-2 6-2
LSU 10-3 6-2
Texas A&M 7-6 4-4
Auburn 6-7 3-5
Mississippi State 5-7 1-7
Arkansas 4-8 1-7
Full Standings

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