ReliaQuest Bowl

Wisconsin (7-5) vs. No. 13 LSU (9-3)

11 a.m. CST Monday (ESPN2)

Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida

0 Previous starts for Garrett Nussmeier, who is expected to be at quarterback for LSU on Monday. Nussmeier will start because Jayden Daniels, the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner, has opted out of the game, removing 3,812 passing yards, 40 TD passes, 1,134 rushing yards and 10 rushing TDs from the Tigers’ offense. Nussmeier has played in 17 games during his three seasons at LSU. He has completed 98-of-174 passes for 1,325 yards with eight TDs and six interceptions.

1 Team ranks in the top 10 in rushing offense and passing offense nationally. LSU is No. 8 in rushing with an average of 213.5 yards per game and No. 4 in passing with an average of 334.3 yards per game. The Tigers lead the nation with an average of 547.8 yards per game. The Wisconsin defense has yielded an average of 331.7 yards per game – 138.3 rushing and 193.4 passing.

3 Games were missed by Wisconsin QB Tanner Mordecai this season because of a hand injury. The Badgers lost two of the games and scored an average of 16 points per game. In the nine games with Mordecai at quarterback, Wisconsin averaged 25 points per game and went 6-3. Mordecai enters Monday’s game having completed 177-of-274 passes for 1,688 yards with six TDs and four interceptions and run for 305 yards and four TDs on 77 carries.

4 Previous games between LSU and Wisconsin. The Tigers won the first three – 38-28 on Sept. 25, 1971, 27-7 on Sept. 30, 1972, and 28-24 on Sept. 30, 2014. The Badgers won the most recent meeting 16-14 on Sept. 3, 2016.

4 Victories and 11 losses for Wisconsin against SEC opponents, including a 3-7 record in bowl meetings. The Badgers’ most recent game against an SEC opponent came on Sept. 3, 2016, when Wisconsin defeated LSU 16-14 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

6 Appearances in the ReliaQuest Bowl for Wisconsin when it takes the field on Monday, tying the Badgers with Iowa and Michigan for the most appearances in the game. Wisconsin defeated Duke 34-20 on Jan. 2, 1995, in the final Hall of Fame Bowl. In the Outback Bowl, Wisconsin defeated Auburn 34-31 in overtime on Jan. 1, 2015, and lost to Georgia 33-6 on Jan. 1, 1998, and 24-21 on Jan. 1, 2005, and Tennessee 21-17 on Jan. 1, 2008.

10 Consecutive LSU games have featured at least one 100-yard receiver. WRs Malik Nabers with nine, Brian Thomas Jr. with five and Kyren Lacy with two have had 100-yard receiving games during the streak.

10 Victories, five losses and one tie for LSU against Big Ten opponents, including a 5-2 record in bowls. The Tigers most recent game against a Big Ten opponent came on Jan. 2, 2023, when LSU defeated Purdue 63-7 in the Citrus Bowl.

15 TD receptions for LSU WR Brian Thomas Jr., tied for the most in the nation this season with Utah State WR Jalen Royals. Thomas has 60 receptions for 1,079 yards in 2023.

20 Receiving yards to become the eighth SEC player with 3,000 and 22 receiving yards to become LSU’s career leader are needed by WR Malik Nabers. Nabers has 186 receptions for 2,980 yards and 21 TDs in his three seasons with the Tigers. Josh Reed holds the school record with 3,001 yards on 167 receptions from 1999 through 2001. In LSU’s previous game, Nabers became the school career leader in receptions, passing Wendell Davis, who had 183 for 2,708 yards from 1984 through 1987.

23 Points is the middle ground between winning and losing for Wisconsin this season. The Badgers have won the seven games in which they have scored more than 23 points and lost the five games in which they scored fewer than 23 points.

26 of Wisconsin WR Will Pauling’s 66 receptions came on third down, the most in the Big Ten this season. Twenty-one of those 26 receptions produced first downs. Pauling has 694 receiving yards and four TD receptions this season.

29 Victories, 24 losses and one tie for LSU in bowls. The Tigers defeated Purdue 63-7 in last season’s Citrus Bowl. LSU has played in the ReliaQuest Bowl twice. The Tigers lost to Syracuse 23-10 on Jan. 2, 1989, when the game was called the Hall of Fame Bowl, and defeated Iowa 21-14 on Jan. 1, 2014, when it was the Outback Bowl.

29 Consecutive Outback/Reliaquest bowls have matched teams from the SEC and Big Ten. The SEC leads the Big Ten 18-10 in the preceding games. Overall, the SEC is 20-13 in the bowl. The Big Ten is 13-22 overall. In last season’s Reliaquest Bowl, Mississippi State defeated Illinois 19-10.

46.4 Points per game for LSU this season, the highest scoring average in the nation. Wisconsin yielded an average of 18.9 points per game this season.

87 Quarterbacks threw more passes than Wisconsin’s Tanner Mordecai and only one produced as few TDs in 2023. Six of Mordecai’s 274 passes went for touchdowns this season. Every other player who had at least as many passing attempts as Mordecai had at least nine TD passes except East Carolina QB Alex Finn, who had six TD passes among his 290 throws. In his previous two seasons at SMU, Mordecai threw 72 TD passes.

113 Tackles for Wisconsin S Hunter Wohler this season, the most by a defensive back for the Badgers since 1991. Wohler has 40 more tackles and, with 73, 25 more solo tackles than any other Wisconsin player this season.

236 Rushing yards for Wisconsin’s Jackson Acker on 58 carries, the most for a running back available for the Badgers on Monday. Braelon Allen ran for 984 yards in 2023 for Wisconsin, but he’s skipping the bowl. Chez Mellusi ran for 306 yards, but he broke his leg in the fourth game of the season.

1,546 Receiving yards for LSU WR Malik Nabers this season, the most in the nation. Fourteen of Nabers’ 86 receptions in 2023 have gone for touchdowns.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.