ORLANDO, Fla. - Playing without key pieces on both sides of the ball, the Purdue football team closed out its 2022 season with a 63-7 to No. 17 LSU in the 2023 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.
The Boilermakers (8-6) finished with eight wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2006 and 2007, as well as the first Big Ten West Division title and Big Ten Championship Game appearance in program history.
Starting his second game at Purdue, Austin Burton threw for 74 yards on 12-of-24 passing. Michael Alaimo came on in relief in the second half. The redshirt junior set career highs 4-of-11 passing for 74 yards and his first career passing touchdown. TJ Sheffield was the Boilermakers' leading receiver with seven catches for 56 yards and a score.
Running back Devin Mockobee's historic campaign came to an end 32 yards shy of becoming the first freshman 1,000-yard rusher in school history. Mockobee ran for 48 yards on 13 carries against LSU, finishing his rookie season with a program records 968 yards on 195 rushes. The Booneville, Ind., native also finished with nine rushing touchdowns which tied for fourth in on the Purdue freshmen lists. Mockobee added three catches for 26 yards Monday.
Purdue's lone scoring drive came early in the fourth quarter. The nine-play, 75-yard drive featured a 26-yard pass by wide receiver Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen to TJ Sheffield. The gadget play set up a 16-yard touchdown toss from Alaimo to Sheffield.
On the defensive end, Purdue was led by Bryce Hampton with eight tackles. Safety Sanoussi Kane picked up the Boilermakers' only tackle-for-loss. Jamari Brown picked off Garrett Nussmeier's pass in the endzone midway through the third quarter for his third interception of the season.
The Tigers (10-4) outgained Purdue 594-256. Quarterbacks Jayden Daniels and Nussmeier combined for 312 yards passing and a trio of touchdowns. LSU totaled 225 yards and four scores on the ground, 369 passing yards and four touchdowns through the air and an interception returned for a touchdown late in the fourth.
NOTES
• Monday marked the first meeting between Purdue and LSU
• Quarterback Jack Albers recorded his first career completion late in the fourth quarter.
• Purdue went 3-of-18 on third down compared to LSU's 8-of-12 mark.
• Kicker Mitchell Fineran was 1-for-1 on PATs. The righty finished his career as Purdue's most accurate kicker with a 79.3% mark and ranked fourth with 42 made field goals at Purdue and
• For the second straight game, Purdue attempted and converted a fake punt, as Jack Sullivan carried the ball five yards for a first down in the second quarter.
UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will head into their first offseason with head coach Ryan Walters. Purdue's 100th season at Ross-Ade Stadium will open Sept. 2 against Fresno State.