Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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GAME PREVIEW: LSU freshman running back Leonard Four‑ nette, who was ranked No. 1 in the 2014 recruiting class according to 247Composite (a compilation of all the major recruiting services). Faced with enormous expectations, he rushed for a team‑best 891 yards and eight touch‑ downs. "It's been a surprise for me," said Ross Dellenger, who covers LSU for The Baton Rouge Advocate. "The LSU fan base here expected so much from him that really if Leonard finished below 15 scores, it was a disappointment. That's how big expectations were, especially with the fans around here. "I suppose it depends on who you're talking to whether he exceeded expec‑ tations. For me, he did, but for a lot of people around here he probably fell short because he didn't go to New York for the Heisman Trophy. That's the ex‑ pectation level that he entered with." Considering the injuries Notre Dame suffered in November and the subse‑ quent sieve‑like unit the Irish trotted out down the stretch, it's hard to find a worse matchup on paper for an Irish squad that allowed an average of 244.2 rushing yards in the five November games. The X‑factor in bowl games, how‑ ever, is motivation. Whether one team — or both — doesn't want to be there can many times make up for the on‑ paper expectations. "I'd say they're pretty motivated," Dellenger said. "Going into the year, this was a season most people thought LSU's win total would fall between eight and 10. They fell on the low end of that at 8‑4. Going 8‑4 and almost Facts & Figures NOTRE DAME VS. LSU Game Info Date: Dec. 30, 2014. Site: LP Field (68,798) at Nashville, Tenn. Kickoff: 3 p.m. ET. Television: ESPN. Radio: This broadcast can be heard live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio (channel 129). Series Facts: This is the 11th meeting between Notre Dame and LSU. The series is tied 5‑5. Coaches: Notre Dame — Brian Kelly (44‑20, fifth season); LSU‑ Les Miles (103‑28, 10th sea‑ son at LSU). Noting LSU: The Tigers could become just the third team to have a winning record against the Irish in series of 10 or more games if they win the Music City Bowl, joining Michigan and Nebraska … Two of the three previous meetings between Notre Dame and LSU came in bowl games (Sugar and Independence) that the Tigers won by a combined score of 68‑23 … This year marked just the third time in 10 years that Miles failed to win 10 games … Miles is 6‑3 in bowl games with the Tigers, including a 1‑1 record in BCS National Championship Games … True freshmen scored 20 of LSU's 39 offensive touchdowns during the regular season … A loss to Notre Dame would give LSU three losses in a four‑game stretch for just the second time under Miles (2008).