Luke Fickell and Brian Kelly (Courtesy ReliaQuest Bowl) TAMPA, Fla. - When bowl matchups were announced on December 3, and it was learned that LSU
TAMPA, Fla. – When bowl matchups were announced on December 3, and it was learned that LSU and Wisconsin would be coming to Tampa to play in the ReliaQuest Bowl, the hope was Jayden Daniels would lead the Tigers’ offense onto the field.
Instead of the Heisman-winning quarterback, LSU will have backup Garrett Nussmeier at the helm New Year’s Day (Noon/ESPN2) at Raymond James Stadium. Such is life in college football these days when scores of players are opting out of bowl games in favor of preparing for the NFL, as is the case with Daniels, or are in the transfer portal if they have not already moved on to another school.
Nussmeier, a redshirt who will be making his first career start Monday, has thrown for 1,325 yards and eight touchdowns in his career. So, he has experience. He also has receivers Malik Nabors and Brian Thomas. The former leads the nation with 1,546 receiving yards and the latter is 18th with 1,079. They have combined for 29 touchdowns.
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“Each one brings a different element to the game,” said LSU coach Brian Kelly, whose team is 9-3 and No. 13 in the country. “Malik’s ability to run after the catch is extraordinary. He’s a physical player, makes people miss, breaks tackles. A ferocious competitor. Brian, with his ball skills down the field and his size (6-4, 205) obviously make him a difficult one-on-one matchup.”
LSU will make its third bowl appearance in Tampa, one with each iteration of the New Year’s bowl: Hall of Fame, Outback and ReliaQuest.
Wisconsin will be making its sixth bowl appearance in Tampa with the Badgers having gone 2-3 in the Outback Bowls. Coach Luke Fickell will complete his first season at Wisconsin after arriving from Cincinnati, where Kelly was also a head coach.
“We’re excited about a great opponent in LSU,” said Fickell. “Coach Kelly and I obviously got a little bit of history, know a lot about him. This is going be an incredible challenge for us. I think that’s exciting for us and our program.”
Wisconsin (7-5) will be without leading rusher Braelon Allen, who is preparing for the NFL draft after piling up 984 yards and 12 touchdowns. That’s a blow to quarterback Tanner Mordecai and an offense that is 73rd nationally with an average of 371 yards per game.
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Even with a couple of starters in the portal, the Badgers will have plenty of playmakers on a defense that is allowing only 18.9 points per game to rank 18th nationally. Among players to watch are linebacker C.J. Goetz (4.0 sacks, 11 TFLs) and corner Ricardo Hallman, whose six interceptions are tied for second in the nation.
As with most bowl games, key players will be absent. However, with LSU’s dynamic duo at receiver and a Wisconsin defense that has allowed more than 24 points only once this season, not to mention a forecast high of 70 degrees with plenty of sun, the ReliaQuest Bowl will likely be a nice way to ring in 2024.
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