Purdue's blowout loss to LSU on Monday was reminiscent of the one-sided rout in the 2019 Music City Bowl when Purdue lost to Auburn 63-14 in Nashville.

The Boilers knew they would be in for a tough test heading into the Citrus Bowl with a mixture of coaching changes, opt-outs, and transfer departures. There was some optimism that they would provide a better performance than they showed this afternoon.

After an early defensive stop the Boilermakers looked completely lost Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

The Jayden Daniels led LSU offense was able to do whatever they wanted in the game. After being forced to punt on their first drive of the game, the Tigers turned things on offensively.

Purdue allowed LSU to score a touchdown on the next six possessions, excluding kneel down at the end of the first half. The Tigers used a good balance of run and pass plays to move down the field each drive.

Jayden Daniels, backups Garrett Nussmeier and Walker Howard, along with wide receiver Malik Nabers combined for 367 passing yards with four touchdowns.

Nabers nearly had more passing than all three quarterbacks for Purdue. Coming from a couple of trick plays, Nabers was 2-2 for 50 yards and a touchdown pass. That was in addition to his 163 receiving yard performance with a touchdown at the receiver position.

Nabers special day ended with him being named MVP of the 2023 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.

LSU also had a balanced rushing attack as four players got six or more carries. The leading rusher was Jayden Daniels, but running backs Noah Cain, John Emery Jr. and Derrick Davis Jr. all scored on the ground.

The Tigers were consistent throughout the game, scoring 14 or more in each quarter. The 63 points allowed by Purdue defense was the most since that aforementioned Music City Bowl loss to Auburn.

Purdue's offense without the likes of Aidan O'Connell, Charlie Jones, Payne Durham, and others looked the complete opposite of the one that led the Boilermakers to a Big Ten West title.

Quarterback Austin Burton had waited six years to have an opportunity like he had today, but wasn't able to capitalize on the chance. Burton finished the game with just 74 passing yards while completing 50% of his passes and throwing an interception.

In the third quarter, redshirt sophomore Michael Alaimo entered the game for Burton with the Boilermakers down by 42. Alaimo did throw the only touchdown for Purdue in the game, connecting with TJ Sheffield for the score.

Regardless of which quarterback was in the game, Purdue could not get anything going consistently as an offensive. LSU out gained the Boilermakers by nearly 400 yards.

Purdue also put themselves in compromising positions on third down and went just 4-16 in those situations. The LSU pressure forced bad decisions all day.

The big deficit early did not allow Purdue to focus on Devin Mockobee as much as they would have liked. The former walk-on running back was 80 yards from reaching the 1,000 yard mark for the season, but received only 13 carries for 48 yards.

Mockobee was the the most productive player on the Purdue offense, with 26 receiving yards in addition to his rushing performance.

Although LSU had three starters across the defensive line opt-out, they were still able to dominate the Boilermakers' front line. LSU caused four sacks and seven tackles for loss, while Purdue had one tackle for loss and no sacks during the game.

Purdue has now closed the season with back-to-back disappointing losses in big games. First was the Big Ten Championship Game against Michigan and now an embarrassing showing in Orlando.

This officially brings the Brohm era to a close. Ryan Walters and the new staff will take over and look to put this performance behind the program.