With the regular season now in the books, the 9-3 LSU Tigers will now look to their bowl matchup in Tampa, Florida in the Reliaquest Bowl. LSU is looking for their second straight 10-win season under second-year head coach Brian Kelly. The Wisconsin Badgers are the last team standing in their way of accomplishing that goal on New Year’s Day at Raymond James Stadium.
LSU is currently listed as a 10-point favorite in the 2024 Reliaquest Bowl as Wisconsin comes to the matchup with a 7-5 record on the season.
FIRST START FOR NUSSMEIER
After a historic season for LSU’s starting quarterback Jayden Daniels, the senior Heisman Trophy winner and potential top-five draft pick had decided to opt out of the Reliaquest Bowl, meaning that redshirt sophomore Garrett Nussmeier will get his first career start. The gunslinger out of Lake Charles has football in his blood, as his father Doug Nussmeier played in the NFL for seven years and has coached at several prestigious universities such as Alabama, Michigan, and Florida. He is currently the quarterbacks coach for the Los Angeles Chargers. Nussmeier has delivered when called upon in his career, including looking very sharp in last season’s SEC Championship game against Georgia after Daniels rolled his ankle and couldn’t return to the game.
NABERS CLOSING IN ON HISTORY
Wide receiver Malik Nabers had a season for the ages after having a breakout year in 2022. This season, the Lafayette native has 1,546 yards with 86 catches and 14 touchdowns. For his career, he has 2,980 yards as a Tiger and will look to break Josh Reed’s record of 3,001 yards in the Reliaquest Bowl. Reed, a native of Rayne, is arguably one of the greatest receivers to ever play in Tiger Stadium and spent several years in the NFL.
Nabers is expected to be a top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft after being just the 13th unanimous All-American in LSU Football history.
FLORIDA HAS BEEN GOOD TO THE TIGERS
Since 2013, LSU has a record of 6-2 in the Sunshine State, including a 3-1 bowl record (the NCAA vacated one bowl win). LSU won the Cheez-It Bowl a year ago in Orlando against Purdue, a fellow Big 10 opponent of Wisconsin, 63-7. That 58-point margin is tied for the second-largest of any bowl game in the history of college football. The worst came on Saturday when Florida State fell to Georgia 63-3 in the Orange Bowl.
SERIES RECORD: LSU leads 3-1
Previous Meetings:
2016: Wisconsin 16-14 LSU
2014: LSU 28-24 Wisconsin
1972: LSU 27-7 Wisconsin
1971: LSU 38-28 Wisconsin
STAT LEADERS
LSU
Jayden Daniels: 236-of-327, 3,812 yards, 40 TD, 4 INT (opt-out)
Jayden Daniels: 135 carries, 1,134 yards, 10 TD (opt-out)
Malik Nabers: 86 catches, 1,546 yards, 14 TD
Harold Perkins Jr: 5.5 sacks
Greg Penn III: 82 tackles (33 solo)
Andre Sam: 3 INT
Damian Ramos: 12-of-15 Field Goals, Long of 48
Wisconsin
Tanner Mordecai: 177-of-274, 1,687 yards, 6 TD, 4 INT
Braelon Allen: 181 carries, 984 yards, 12 TD
Will Pauling: 66 catches, 694 yards, 4 TD
Darryl Peterson: 4.5 sacks
Hunter Wohler: 113 tackles (73 solo)
Ricardo Hallman: 6 INT
Nathanial Vakos: 14-of-17 Field Goals, Long of 52
Kickoff from Raymond James Stadium is set for 11:00 a.m. CT between LSU and Wisconsin. The pregame show will begin at 9:00 a.m. CT and all the action can be heard on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette and 104.1 Lake Charles.