Music City Bowl preview: Notre Dame vs. #23 LSU

Notre Dame QB Everett Golson won’t be the starter against LSU in the Music City Bowl after months of struggling.

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Brian Kelly and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on Les Miles and the #23 LSU Tigers in the Music City Bowl.

The Fighting Irish had one of the biggest falls in college football, starting an incredible 6-0 before losing late to #2 Florida State and losing their final four games to drop to 7-5 on the season. The biggest reason for the collapse is considered by most to be the turnovers committed by QB Everett Golson, with 14 INTs. As a result, Golson will not be the starter but will cede the reins to Malik Zaire. Though inexperienced, Zaire leads the team with 9.9 yards/carry and a rushing TD, making him a versatile dual-threat for head coach Brian Kelly’s offense. The key to beating the Fighting Irish will be making big passing plays against a defense with a penchant for giving up big plays.

LSU had some struggles early in the season with losses to Mississippi State and #5 Auburn to fall to 4-2. But three straight wins over Florida, Kentucky and an upset win over #3 Ole Miss. After losing two more games to #5 Alabama and Arkansas, the Tigers finished strong with a win over Texas A&M. The struggles of the LSU offense have made the impressive performance of the defense all the more incredible. Five times in the regular season the Tigers held opponents to 7 points or fewer, and only had two games where they allowed 30 or more. The key to beating LSU will be to keep the defense on the field with sustained drives and shut down the offense.

Prediction: LSU Tigers win Music City Bowl – The Fighting Irish are a mess right now and haven’t beaten a half-decent team since narrowly beating Stanford in early October.  LSU on the other hand has exactly the kind of team that can simply keep the ball out of Notre Dame’s hands and force them to play bend-but-don’t-break defense.