The Citrus Bowl is a college football bowl game that is played annually in Orlando, Florida. It was originally known as the Hall of Fame Bowl when it was established in 1947 and was renamed the Citrus Bowl in 1983. The game is typically played at Camping World Stadium, and it is part of the post-season college football slate, usually taking place on New Year’s Day or in the days following.

The Citrus Bowl features teams from the Big Ten Conference and the Southeastern Conference (SEC), though it can also include teams from other conferences depending on the bowl’s selection and agreements. Historically, it has been considered one of the more prominent non-New Year’s Six bowl games, though it is not part of the College Football Playoff system.

Over the years, the Citrus Bowl has seen matchups between strong programs and has had a mix of competitive and memorable games. The bowl has been a popular destination for college football teams with strong seasons but not quite qualifying for the larger, more prestigious bowl games like the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, or Orange Bowl.

The Citrus Bowl is considered important because of its long history, the quality of the teams involved, and its location in Florida, which is a hotbed for college football talent.

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From Camping World Stadium in Orlando Florida – the Iowa Hawkeyes and Tennessee Volunteers are set to kick off in a College Football affair. The Iowa Hawkeyes are 10-3 on the season. After winning the Big Ten West – Iowa fell in the Big Ten title game to Michigan.

For Tennessee, they come into the game with an 8-4 record. The Volunteers finished third in the SEC – West. Tennessee won their season finale 48-24 at home over Vanderbilt. The Volunteers are -8.5 in this game over Iowa. The total for the game is 36.5 points.

The Tennessee Volunteers are the favorites in the betting lines in college football for this game as they are listed at -6.5 and a total set at 35.5 points.

2023 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl Odds: Iowa vs Tennessee Analysis and Betting Pick | MyBookie Bowl Game Preview

Iowa Hawkeyes vs Tennessee Volunteers
ATS Odds: Tennessee -6.5
Money line Odds: Iowa Line +200 / Tennessee Line -250
Over/Under Odds: 35.5

Monday, January 1st, 2024 at 1:00 pm ET | ABC
Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL

Ferentz Led Hawkeyes

The Iowa Hawkeyes went into the final game of the season, the Big Ten title game on a four game winning streak. The Hawkeyes had lost 12-10 on a controversial call to Minnesota. After that, the Hawkeyes allowed just 10 points per game over their final four to finish 10-2.

Iowa was one of the top defensive teams all season. Iowa allowed just 13.2 points per game. Offensively was where the issues lied. Deacon Hill took over for Cade McNamara and tossed just five touchdowns on the season. Erick All was the top target, but he has just 299 yards on the season. All will not play in this game.

Iowa was not great on the ground or via the air. Leshon Williams was the top threat on the ground, but had just one rushing touchdown. This is the 36th bowl game for the Hawkeyes in school history. Iowa beat Kentucky in the Music City Bowl a season ago. Iowa and Tennessee played in 2014 in the Texas Bowl, and the Volunteers won that game.

Volunteers Finale for 2023 Season

The Volunteers come into the game with four losses. Those losses came to Florida, Alabama, Missouri and Georgia. They lost two in a row before throwing 48 points on the Commodores to finish the season. Tennessee scored 31.5 points per game as a team, and allowed 22 per game.

Jaylen Wright was the top threat in the Volunteers offense, as went over 1,000 yards on the ground. He will not play in this game to prepare for the NFL Draft. Squirrel White is expected to play. He caught 10 passes in the win over Vanderbilt for 110 yards. Joe Milton, the starting quarterback is also expected to play.

This will be the 56th bowl game for the Volunteers in school history. A season ago, the Volunteers won the Orange Bowl over Clemson in Miami. This will be the third straight season Josh Heupel has had the Volunteers in a bowl game.

Iowa vs Tennessee Betting Pick | Tennessee Tops Iowa

The Tennessee Volunteers are going to win this game. The Hawkeyes just have too many issues on the offensive end to win this game. Tennessee will be able to put some points up on the Iowa defense.

Do not be surprised if this game just barely goes over the total. Our final score prediction for this game is the Tennessee Volunteers 27-13 over the Iowa Hawkeyes. Our bet is Tennessee -6.5 over Iowa.

NCAAF Citrus Bowl: ATS Tennessee Volunteers -6.5 | Bet Iowa vs Tennessee Today
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LSU vs Purdue Game Info

On Tuesday, January 2nd, the SEC runner-up, the LSU Tigers, will meet the Big 10 runner-up, the Purdue Boilermakers in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. On paper, this game looks like it will be a blowout, but as you know, football games aren’t played on paper.

The LSU Tigers got to this point by virtue of winning the SEC West. With victories over Alabama and LSU, the Tigers advanced to the SEC Championship game, where they were thoroughly defeated by the Georgia Bulldogs. However, the Tigers can hold solace in the fact that they put up 549 yards of total offense against one of the nation’s top defenses.

As for the Purdue Boilermakers, they won a fairly weak Big 10 West this season. They won three of their last four games, but two of those wins were against Indiana and Northwestern. They were demolished in the Big 10 title game by the Michigan Wolverines.

Let’s preview both teams, and then we’ll give you our prediction for the Citrus Bowl .

Purdue Boilermakers

One of the main storylines surrounding this game will be the fact that Purdue will be without their head coach. Jeff Brohm, who has done a great job of bringing the Purdue program to new heights, left Purdue to take over at his alma mater, Louisville.

Brohms brother, Brian, the team’s offensive coordinator, will now step in and be the interim head coach. Purdue has since hired Ryan Walters, the defensive coordinator for the Illinois Fighting Illini this past season, to be the new head coach going forward.

Brohm’s offense tends to be pass-heavy, as the Boilermakers averaged over 285 yards passing per game. Their running game isn’t too shabby itself, as they rushed for over 130 yards per game as well. All of this led to an average of 28 points per game.

We’ll see if Purdue can continue to run a strong offense against a defense that plays against some of the top offenses in the country on a weekly basis.

LSU Tigers

Brian Kelly knew he had his work cut out for him when he came to LSU after last season. Kelly quickly put together a very good team, hitting the recruiting trail hard, and raiding the transfer portal. LSU finished the season with a 9-4 record.

Jayden Daniels, LSU’s dynamic quarterback, injured his ankle in the second half of the SEC title game, but we expect to see him in this one. Daniels is a key component to the LSU offense, as he can beat you with his arm or his legs.

We will have to wait and see if any of LSU’s top players choose to sit out the bowl game to avoid injury or prepare for the NFL Draft.

Prediction

As long as Daniels comes back and plays, we think that LSU is a much better team than Purdue, and LSU should have no issues covering the 14-point spread in this one.

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Vrbo Citrus Bowl Betting Update: Will LSU or Purdue Hoist the Trophy?

The LSU Tigers had a vastly different look this season. After Ed Orgeron was ousted midway through the 2021 season, LSU knew that changes needed to be made. The LSU administration made a huge change, as they pried Brian Kelly away from Notre Dame. Kelly immediately brought credibility back to the LSU program. He brought in some huge recruits, hit the transfer portal hard, and he now has the Tigers looking for their 10th win.

The Tigers will meet up with the Big 10 runner-up, the Purdue Boilermakers. These two will square off in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl in Orlando. Purdue has gone through a lot of changes since the season ended. Head coach Jeff Brohm left Purdue to take the head coaching job at his alma mater, the University of Louisville. Brohm took many coaches with him, including defensive coordinator Ron English. We’ll see how different the Boilermakers look in this one.

We’ll now give you a brief overview of each team, and then we’ll give you our NCAA Football Bowl Betting prediction for the 2023 Citrus Bowl.

Purdue Boilermakers

Purdue will look nothing like the offensive juggernaut that they were throughout the Big 10 season. The Boilermakers averaged 410 yards of offense per game. With quarterback Aidan O’Connell, top receiver Charlie Jones, and three other offensive starters opting out for this game, the offense will have a vastly different look. We’ll see what Jeff Brohm’s brother Brian, the team’s offensive coordinator and now the interim head coach, has in store for LSU. Purdue alum and future NFL Hall of Famer Drew Brees has also been brought in to help with the offense.

LSU Tigers

While many teams have been hit hard during the bowl season, LSU didn’t get a lot of opt outs. The best news that LSU received is that quarterback Jayden Daniels will be returning next season. Daniels was responsible for over 3500 yards of offense along with 27 touchdowns this past season. Even though Daniels missed time at the end of the regular season due to an injury, he has stated that he is now back to 100% and will play in the Citrus Bowl.

LSU did lose three top defenders from the defensive line prior to this game. We’ll see how well they can replace those three starters. Other than that, the Tigers haven’t lost anyone of much importance. This defense should be ready to slow down an already weakened Purdue offense.

Prediction

LSU comes into this one as a 14.5-point favorite. LSU has played better competition throughout the season, has a victory over Alabama, and is the better team in this one. Not only has Purdue lost some important players on offense, but their defense has been hit hard by opt-outs as well.

While we think Purdue will be able to score some points, we just don’t see them staying too close to LSU. The LSU offense will take advantage of a poor Purdue run defense and will attack them on the ground. We look for a big day from Daniels running the ball. LSU wins this one 42-24 and gets their 10th win of the season.