Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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GAME PREVIEW: LSU defense, which is third nationally in points allowed per game (16.4). The Notre Dame offensive line cup‑ board is much deeper this year with 15 available scholarship bodies, although nine of them are freshmen and sopho‑ mores. The Irish defense has been be‑ sieged by injuries, but Kelly said there is no alternative to preparing for LSU other than practicing with great physi‑ cality. Notre Dame is scheduled to practice eight times before leaving for Christmas break and re‑convening in Nashville Dec. 26. "We're going to practice physi‑ cal even if we have to put out guys that are not going to play this year," Kelly said. "We're going to bang and play physical because that's the kind of football we're going to see. It can't be flag football here for the next eight practices. "Even if we've got to line up some offensive linemen and put them in de‑ fensive lineman roles, we're going to do whatever is necessary to physically prepare our football team for a very physical football team in LSU." Predictions Douglas Farmer: LSU 24, Notre Dame 13 This matchup could not play into LSU's favor more. The Tigers have an offense nearly as stuttering as Notre Dame's defense is injury‑riddled. They also have the nation's third‑best scoring defense, so head coach Les Miles will not have to worry too much about a potential Irish explosion on the scoreboard. If LSU freshman running back Leonard Fournette can get into a rhythm at all, he will likely score more points on his own than Notre Dame will all afternoon. Tom Loy: LSU 34, Notre Dame 27 The Irish will keep it close regardless of who starts at quarterback. However, slowing down the LSU rushing attack led by freshman phenom Leonard Fournette will be too tall of a task for this injury‑plagued Notre Dame defense. There's hope for the Irish due to the fact that the Tigers aren't a strong passing team, so if they can force LSU to put the ball in the air, they will have a chance to pull off the upset. Andrew Owens: LSU 31, Notre Dame 27 Everything leading up to this game points to LSU downing Notre Dame relatively easily: The four‑game Irish losing streak, the long list of injured players that will be missing Dec. 30 and the question marks surrounding the quarterback position. However, the Tigers rarely win in resounding fashion and the Irish have had a month to lick their literal and figurative wounds. Expect an inspired performance to fall short in a matchup of teams better than their respective records. Lou Somogyi: LSU 27, Notre Dame 24 Normally my modus operandi is when everyone picks against Notre Dame, I'll go the opposite because it often operates best in that nothing‑to‑lose role. Still, the Irish team we saw at USC was running on fumes and at this point those last impressions are difficult to ignore. If Notre Dame can have early success the confidence level might rise, but sustaining four quarters of strong play has been a problem since the end of the FSU game. An Irish win would not surprise because we expect the unexpected.