LSU coach Brian Kelly gives initial thoughts on Wisconsin matchup

The 2023 college football regular season has officially come to an end, and all eyes turn to bowl season. For the second consecutive year, LSU is slated to face a Big Ten West program, as they get set to play Luke Fickell and Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Earlier this week, coach Brian Kelly shared his initial thoughts on the matchup.

Coach Brian Kelly shares thoughts on facing Wisconsin in ReliaQuest Bowl

In the history of LSU vs. Wisconsin, the Tigers have been able to handle business on a pretty consistent basis, leading the series 3-1. However, their one loss also happened to come in the most recent matchup, as they lost in the opening game of 2016 by a score of 16-14.

At the time, there were two completely different coaching staffs in charge of the programs, but coach Brian Kelly likely hopes to get things off to a hot start in the new era of LSU football.

“Excited about the invitation to play in the ReliaQuest Bowl,” the Tiger head coach said on Monday. “It’s a great destination, Tampa, for our football team, and a great matchup with a Big Ten opponent in Wisconsin. Great tradition, certainly a team that is well coached, and Luke Fickell, I know him very well, and this team will be anxious and excited to play in this game.

“It offers us an opportunity for a 10th win, which has been the thing that we have talked about for the last six weeks after the Alabama game. An important piece for the development of our program is to get to back-to-back seasons with 10 wins.”

In 2023, Luke Fickell led his team to a 7-5 overall record, with wins over Purdue, Rutgers and Illinois among others. While unranked, they’ve put up strong performances all year and could prove to be a challenge for the Tigers.

“Again, excited about the matchup, excited about going to Tampa and giving our players an opportunity to be part of a New Year’s Day. I know it’s not a New Year’s Six, but it’s a New Year’s Day bowl game and it’ll be well received.”

The final game of LSU’s 2023-24 campaign is scheduled for New Year’s Day in Tampa. The ReliaQuest Bowl matchup is set to kick off around 11:00 a.m. CST and will be broadcast live on ESPN2.

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