Citrus Bowl Betting 2024 Predictions, Preview, Odds

The LSU Tigers defeated the Purdue Boilermakers 63-7 in the 2023 Citrus Bowl.

Check out last year's coverage here below and tune back in with us soon for the 2024 Citrus Bowl Odds, Picks and Predictions.

The biggest favorites of bowl season are the LSU Tigers. LSU is currently a 15-point favorite over the Big Ten West champion Purdue Boilermakers in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. Purdue is not the same program we saw in the regular season after the departure of head coach Jeff Brohm and star quarterback Aidan O’Connell, but LSU will be without several key players as well.

The Citrus Bowl is scheduled to take place on Monday, January 2, 2023, at 1 p.m. ET on ABC from Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

LSU Tigers vs. Purdue Boilermakers Betting Prediction

Brian Kelly did an excellent job with LSU in his first season in the Bayou. The Tigers lost a lot of talent to the transfer portal and the draft prior to 2022, but Kelly was able to provide a steady hand and lead the Bayou Bengals to an SEC West title. They clearly have more talent than the Purdue Boilermakers, yet they shouldn’t be this much of a favorite. Purdue will be able to keep it closer than the experts think in a game without many fireworks.

Score Prediction: LSU 27, Purdue 21
Best Bet: Purdue +15

LSU Tigers vs. Purdue Boilermakers Betting Odds

Citrus Bowl Betting Resources

• Date: Monday, January 2, 2023
• TV-Time: ABC, 1:00 p.m. ET
• Venue: Camping World Stadium
• Location: Orlando, Florida
• Expert Picks

LSU Tigers Betting Analysis

It looks like Jayden Daniels will be able to play in this game. The Arizona State transfer improved markedly over the course of the season, but he had a nagging ankle injury by the end of the year. It was clear that Daniels wasn’t at 100% in the SEC Championship Game, yet he has had a month to rest and recuperate, and reports are that he will suit up on Monday. Daniels completed 68.5% of his passes for 2,774 yards (7.5 YPA) with 16 touchdowns and three interceptions on the season, and he was the leading rusher for LSU too with 818 yards (4.5 YPC) and 11 touchdowns.

Josh Williams, Noah Cain, and John Emery III split the backfield workload and all three players will take part in the Citrus Bowl. However, there will be a lot of talent missing from the receiving corps. Kayshon Boutte was slated to take part in the bowl game but decided not to play earlier this week. Jaray Jenkins opted out, Kyren Lacy is injured, and Jack Bech entered the transfer portal, so LSU doesn’t have a lot of depth behind Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. against the Boilermakers.

LSU’s defense ranked 32nd in SP+ this season. Unfortunately for the Bayou Bengals, this defense won’t have a lot of its talent in this game. Star defensive ends Ali Gaye and B.J. Ojulari both opted out to focus on the NFL Draft. Nose tackle Jaquelin Roy and defensive backs Jay Ward and Mekhi Garner followed suit shortly afterwards, and several other players entered the transfer portal. The linebackers will be the strength of this defense with Micah Baskerville and sensational freshman Harold Perkins Jr. leading the way.

Purdue Boilermakers Betting Analysis

The Boilermakers won’t have star quarterback Aidan O’Connell available for this game as he decided to opt out in order to prepare for the NFL Draft. O’Connell is seen as a mid-round pick after completing 64.1% of his passes for 3,490 yards (7.0 YPA) with 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Austin Burton will now start in his place, and Burton didn’t see much action in the regular season. He completed 24 of 32 passes for 199 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Unlike O’Connell, Burton is a little bit of a mobile threat, so that will give this offense something new.

This offense will need some kind of spark as the receiving corps has been decimated due to opt outs and injuries. Top receiver Charlie Jones opted out after a season in which he caught 110 passes for 1,361 yards and 12 touchdowns, and standout tight end Payne Durham opted out too. T.J. Sheffield is the top returning option with 39 receptions for 424 yards and three touchdowns, but the good news is that the top two running backs are still at West Lafayette. Devin Mockobee had 211 touches for 1,168 yards and nine touchdowns, and Dylan Downing was solid in short yardage situations.

Purdue ranked 54th in Defensive SP+ even though the Boilermakers didn’t place a single player on the all-conference team. Cornerback Cory Trice was arguably the best player on this side of the ball, and he will be opting out after leading the team with 10 pass breakups. Safety Cam Allen had three interceptions and six pass breakups, and Jack Sullivan led the team with 5.5 sacks.

Citrus Bowl History

The Citrus Bowl is now known as the Cheez it Citrus Bowl and currently features schools from the Big Ten and the SEC. This game takes place at the Citrus Bowl from Orlando, Florida. This bowl began in 1947 as the Tangerine Bowl until 1982 when it was called the Florida Citrus Bowl. It was then known as the Capital One Bowl from 2003 through 2014. 

The SEC has captured this bowl nine of the past 10 years. Georgia has had the most appearances in this bowl with six and it's gone 4-1-1 in those games. Along with the Bulldogs, Tennessee is the only other school to win this bowl game more than four times.

Alabama defeated Michigan 35-10 in the 2019 edition, which was the third Citrus Bowl win for the SEC school.

In 2021, the Big Ten scored a victory with a 35-19 win by Northwestern over Auburn. But in 2022, Kentucky scored revenge for the SEC with a 20-17 victory over Iowa as the 'under' cashed. The 'under' is now 4-2 across the past six Citrus Bowls.