The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame will try to snap a four-game
losing streak when they square off against the LSU Tigers in the Music City
Bowl tomorrow afternoon. Both programs are in a less desirable bowl game after having
disappointing seasons, so it’ll be interesting to see just how motivated either
team is to win. With plenty of youth on both sides, this game could be an
opportunity to gain some confidence and leave them optimistic heading into the 2015
season.
As you all know, starting quarterback Everett Golson was
pulled during the season finale and replaced by redshirt freshman Malik Zaire.
Shortly after the embarrassing loss to USC, head coach Brian Kelly stated that
both Golson and Zaire would play against LSU. Earlier today, we found out that
Zaire will be the “starting quarterback”. Normally, I hate having a “two-quarterback”
offense, but this is one situation where I don’t mind it. While I will be
rooting for Notre Dame to win as much as anyone else, it is not as necessary to
win a bowl game like it would be if Notre Dame was 6-0 in the middle of
October. Because Notre Dame is facing such a tough defense in LSU, I’m looking
forward to seeing which quarterback will play better in a hostile situation.
Probably the biggest thing to take away from this decision is that the
quarterback competition will continue throughout spring and summer practices.
As for tomorrow, if Notre Dame is going to win the game, they will have to play
mistake-free football. The Irish might be able to withstand the impact of
committing one turnover, but if they keep giving the ball away to LSU, this
game will turn into a route. LSU owns the third ranked scoring defense at 16.4
points per game, so every possession will be crucial to Notre Dame’s success on
offense. While the Irish have had success moving the football all season long,
tomorrow will likely be their toughest test as the Tigers are allowing just
305.8 yards of total offense per game. Notre Dame’s biggest strength is the
passing game which ranks 16th at 293.8 yards per game, but LSU is
fourth best team in terms of passing yards allowed at 162.3 yards per game and
first in defensive passing efficiency. In other words, the Irish will need to
be able to run the ball to have a chance in this game. The Irish rank just 84th
in rushing offense at 150.8 yards per game, but Tarean Folston came on
strong during the second half the season, and Greg Bryant showcased his
explosive ability in the season finale. With two talent running backs and the
mobility of both Golson and Zaire from the quarterback position, the Irish have
plenty of options to attack an LSU run defense that is good, but not elite.
For Notre Dame’s defense, the number one priority will be
stopping the run. LSU owns the 29th ranked rushing offense at 219.5
yards per game, but a 116th ranked passing offense suggests that
they are extremely one-dimensional. Anthony Jennings leads the LSU offense, but
the sophomore quarterback has only thrown for 1,460 yards, ten touchdowns, and
seven interceptions while completing just 48.8 percent of his passes. Given
that, the Tigers will likely lean heavily on their rushing attack that is led
by Leonard Fournette, Terrence Magee, and Kenny Hilliard who all average over
five yards per carry. If you’ve watched Notre Dame during the second half of
the season, you know that they struggled mightily to stop the running game
after losing middle linebacker Joe Schmidt and defensive linemen Sheldon Day
and Jarron Jones. Schmidt and Jones will not play tomorrow, but the Irish
should get a boost up the middle with the return of Sheldon Day. True freshman
Nyles Morgan replaced senior and team captain Joe Schmidt at middle linebacker,
but the youngster struggled at times due to lack of experience. I’m intrigued
to see how Morgan will play after nearly a month off and three weeks of
additional practices. I would imagine that Morgan has a much better grasp of the
defense and should do a better job of calling plays and lining up his teammates
correctly. If Day and Morgan can make a big impact in the middle to slow down
the Tigers’ running game, then Notre Dame has a chance to hang with LSU’s
offense because I don’t expect much from their passing game.
Notre Dame will play better on defense then they have
recently, but Leonard Fournette and company will be too hard to shut down and
too much for the Irish offense to keep up with.
Prediction: LSU 30,
Notre Dame 20
-Eric Tichelbaut
Twitter: @etichel07
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