Flashback to October 11th, when our very own Notre Dame football team had just beaten North Carolina to add yet another win to start off the season with a tremendous 6-0 record. Our ranking was slowly climbing, and it seemed as if the play-offs were in reach. It was like a flashback to the 2012 season when the Irish went undefeated and made it all the way to the BCS National Championship Game in Miami. Could we be so lucky to experience this pure football joy yet again merely two years later? However, our toughest challenge lie ahead, Florida State. This game marked a turn for the worst that we never really bounced back from. After a heartbreaking loss in Tallahassee, the Fighting Irish finished off the season with a win against Navy and four consecutive losses. Our rankings plummeted while all of our hearts broke.
As a result of this less than stellar 2014 football season, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is scheduled to play the Louisiana State tigers, in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tennessee. According to the College Football Playoff Rankings, LSU is currently ranked 23rd while Notre Dame is no longer ranked. The tiger finished their regular season 8-5 including losses to football powerhouse football programs such as Alabama, currently ranked 1st, and Mississippi State, ranked 7th.
Although the Music City Bowl is a far cry from the College Football Playoffs, this won’t be the first obscure bowl game played by the Irish. In the past ten years, the Irish have played in the Hawai’i Bowl, the Champs Sports Bowl, and the Pinstripe Bowl. The last time Notre Dame played LSU in a bowl game was in the 2006 Sugar Bowl, where they lost to the Tigers with a score of 14-41. Prior to that, back in the 1997 Independence Bowl, the Irish lost to the Tigers 9-27. If the Irish can pull off a victory in the Music City Bowl, it will be their first win against LSU in a bowl game in Notre Dame football history.
According to Notre Dame football coach, Brian Kelly, the Irish will be playing both quarterbacks- Everett Golson and Malik Zaire. Recall the Notre Dame versus UCS game when Zaire subbed for Golson mid-match. Zaire’s performance in the UCS game proved to Kelly that he is capable of contributing positively to the team. Regardless of how either quarterback plays, Kelly plans on utilizing the strengths of both throughout the upcoming game. According to Coach Brian Kelly, the fight for the starting quarterback position may continue into the spring season.
Kick-off for the Nashville Music City Bowl is at 2:00 pm on Tuesday, December 30th. Tickets are on sale now starting at only $45.00 for students.
And for the last time until next year… GO IRISH BEAT TIGERS!
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