By RYNE BERTHELOT, Journal Sports
ORLANDO — Jarrick Bernard-Converse started in 47 consecutive games at Oklahoma State before bringing his game back to his birthplace, Baton Rouge, for a graduate season at LSU, so taking his last one off wasn’t in his DNA.
While several Tigers’ upperclassmen skipped Monday’s 2023 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl in preparation for the NFL Draft, the Evangel Christian alum was on the field for almost the entirety of Monday’s 63-7 slaughter of outmanned Purdue. The veteran cornerback made the most of his time, pulling down a goalline interception to go along with three tackles as LSU stymied the Boilermakers all day.
That yeoman’s effort earned him a special prize to treasure: first-year coach Brian Kelly presented Bernard-Converse the defensive game ball for tenacity as well as for his performance.
“Here’s a senior who could’ve easily not played in this game, but took virtually every snap out there,” Kelly said. “He was our MVP on defense today, and what it means to have someone like him come into our program and really steady things for us.”
LSU finished with another 10-win season, the 17th in program history and 12th this century, and will rise from its current No. 15 ranking. The Tigers (10-4) outgained Purdue 594-263, scored four touchdowns in the final 16 minutes of the first half to open an insurmountable 35-0 halftime lead, and garnished the day with a 99-yard interception return TD by Quad Wilson in the final minute.
The Boilermakers (8-6) were without former head coach Jeff Brohm, quarterback Aidan O’Connell and two of their leading pass catchers in Charlie Jones and Payne Durham and, as such, the passing attack suffered, despite Saints’ great and Purdue alum Drew Brees jumping in for the bowl as QB coach. Austin Burton started under center for Purdue and saw all of the action in the first half before being replaced by two backups. They combined for just 143 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions, while running back Devin Mockobee managed just 48 yards on 13 carries.
The Tigers’ offense encountered no such hardships, however.
After their first drive stalled, the Tigers scored the game’s first 49 points — starting from the 7:01 mark in the first quarter and ending with Purdue’s only touchdown with 12:27 in the fourth quarter — en route to a share of the second-largest margin of victory (56) in bowl history. The 63 points tied the most in LSU history, posted in the 2019 Peach Bowl.
The running back trio of John Emery, Noah Cain and Derrick Davis combined for four touchdowns, but no offensive player had a more explosive game than Malik Nabers, who caught nine passes for 163 yards and a touchdown on 12 targets. He also completed two passes for 50 yards and a touchdown (a 5-yarder to quarterback Jayden Daniels) and was named the Citrus Bowl MVP.
“It shows that I’m able to come out here and perform at a high level with anybody,” Nabers said. “It’s something I can build on for next year to keep my confidence up.”
After questions swirled around Daniels’ availability due to his sore ankle, he and backup Garrett Nussmeier torched the Boilermakers’ defense: Daniels threw for 139 yards and a touchdown, and ran for 67 more yards, along with his first career TD reception from Nabers. Nussmeier threw for 173 yards and two touchdowns as a change of pace to Daniels throughout the game before taking over in the second half. Even highly-touted freshman Walker Howard got into action and completed two of four attempts in the closing minutes.
Kelly said the division of labor at QB between Daniels and Nussmeier — who sparkled in relief in the SEC Championship game — was by design, not by circumstance of the scoreboard.
“I thought (Nussmeier) played well, but we made it clear that he was going to play the third series,” Kelly said. “I didn’t know what was going to happen after that, but we made it clear to him: ‘Go in, do your job. You have a job to do, get it done,’ and then we’ll roll after that and see how it goes.”
It went well. Even without two key receivers in Kayshon Boutte (a late scratch) and Jaray Jenkins, the Tigers’ offense purred.
The defense wasn’t without a fair share of absences, either: stalwarts BJ Ojulari, Jaquelin Roy and Ali Gaye all opted out of the game, which left Mekhi Wingo as the only starter remaining along the defensive line. The front seven still managed to wrack up four sacks on the evening to go along with contributing to three interceptions.
For Bernard-Converse, those numbers didn’t lie.
“We just wanted to go out there and attack the game plan and execute in every phase, starting with the front four all the way to the back end,” he said. “We just wanted to do our job to get this 10th win.”
They did, and it made for a very memorable finish for both LSU and the Evangel product. The other former ECA standout among the Tigers’ defensive starters, senior linebacker Micah Baskerville, also shined, tying for second on the team with five tackles and leading in pass breakups with two.
Contact Ryne at rgberthelot@gmail.com