Music City Bowl: Notre Dame vs LSU Preview and Predictions

Notre Dame and LSU, two teams at the beginning of the season that many thought would get a shot at the inaugural college football playoffs, will instead will face each other in the Music City Bowl Dec. 30th.

LSU (8-4) started off the season 3-0 but couldn’t keep pace with the challenging SEC West. As for the Irish (7-5), they started the season with six straight wins, then the controversial loss to Florida State. Notre Dame finished the regular season with four straight losses.

Of course in the last regular season game against USC, Brian Kelly did what many fans wish he would have done earlier, pull Golson and let Malik Zaire give it a shot. Now it’s up to you to decide if you think one QB did better than the other, but it seems as if Kelly can’t decide. Kelly has said that both QB’s will get their shot at center but has yet to name a starter.

If there is one thing that should be obvious to Kelly, it’s that he is going to want his offense to be on the field for the majority of this game. At this point, you cannot rely on the defense. In the four straight losses, this team has ended the season on, 172 overall points were allowed. That’s an average of 43 points per game. Turnovers in this game will more than likely leave the Irish with their 5th straight loss.

Whether the Irish want to attack LSU on the ground or through the air, they cannot afford turnovers. Where ND’s offense struggles, LSU’s defense strives. ND has given up 12 interceptions, LSU has caught 9 interceptions. ND has had 14 fumbles, LSU has forced 10. This contest will be determined on if the Irish protect the ball or not.