Music City Bowl 2014: Notre Dame vs. LSU TV Info, Spread, Time and Injury News

LSU and Notre Dame aren't supposed to be in Nashville on Dec. 30.

The Tigers and the Fighting Irish are two of the most recognizable and prestigious teams in the country, and the goal is almost always national title or bust entering a new season. Alas, both teams struggled to put away the elite opponents on their schedules and ended up with a disappointing nine losses between them.

That means college football fans are in for an early treat before the bigger bowls start. 

Here is a look at the essential information for this showdown.

2014 Music City Bowl

Matchup: LSU vs. Notre Dame

Date: Tuesday, Dec. 30

Time: 3 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN 

Spread: LSU -7 (via Odds Shark, as of Sunday at 9 a.m. ET)

Injury Report (via USA Today)

Player	Pos.	Date	Details	Status	Injury
Jared Foster	QB	09/06/2014	is out indefinitely	Out	foot
Trey Lealaimatafao	DT	08/02/2014	is out indefinitely	Out	arm
Elliott Porter	C	12/24/2014	is questionable for the Music City Bowl Tuesday against Notre Dame	Questionable	ankle
Rashard Robinson	CB	11/08/2014	is suspended indefinitely	Suspended	disciplinary
Dwayne Thomas	CB	09/29/2014	is expected to miss the remainder of the season	Out	knee
Travonte Valentine	DT	09/10/2014	is out indefinitely	Out	eligibility

Player	Pos.	Date	Details	Status	Injury
Nicky Baratti	S	09/15/2014	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	shoulder
Austin Collinsworth	S	12/24/2014	is doubtful for the Music City Bowl Tuesday against LSU	Doubtful	shoulder
DaVaris Daniels	WR	08/15/2014	will miss the entire season	Suspended	disciplinary
Sheldon Day	DT	12/24/2014	is questionable for the Music City Bowl Tuesday against LSU	Questionable	knee
Jarrett Grace	LB	09/03/2014	is out indefinitely	Out	knee
Eilar Hardy	S	12/24/2014	is probable for the Music City Bowl Tuesday against LSU	Probable	academics
Jay Hayes	DL	12/24/2014	is questionable for the Music City Bowl Tuesday against LSU	Questionable	ankle
Mike Heuerman	TE	08/28/2014	is out indefinitely	Out	hernia
Jarron Jones	G	11/26/2014	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	foot
Will Mahone	WR	08/02/2014	is suspended indefinitely	Suspended	disciplinary
Kendall Moore	LB	08/15/2014	is suspended indefinitely	Suspended	disciplinary
Max Redfield	S	12/24/2014	is probable for the Music City Bowl Tuesday against LSU	Probable	ribs
KeiVarae Russell	CB	08/15/2014	is suspended indefinitely	Suspended	disciplinary
Joe Schmidt	LB	11/03/2014	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	ankle
Drue Tranquill	S	11/26/2014	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	knee
Ishaq Williams	LB	08/18/2014	was dismissed from the team	Out	disciplinary

Preview

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

There was a time during the regular season when both Notre Dame and LSU were ranked in the Top 10. However, heartbreaking losses to Florida State and Alabama, respectively, sent their seasons into tailspins down the stretch (Notre Dame lost five of six to end the year, and LSU lost two of its last three).

The winner of this bowl game will feel better about the 2015 campaign on the horizon.

When LSU has the ball, it is one of the more one-dimensional teams in the country, at least in terms of the Power Five conferences.

It finished an abysmal 116th in the nation in passing yards per game but an impressive 29th in rushing yards per game thanks largely to the running back rotation of Leonard Fournette (891 rushing yards and eight touchdowns), Terrence Magee (545 rushing yards and three touchdowns) and Kenny Hilliard (431 rushing yards and six touchdowns).

The unbalanced attack resulted in a middle-of-the-road group that scored only seven points against Auburn, 10 points against Ole Miss, 13 points against Alabama and zero points against Arkansas.

A game against the porous Notre Dame defense may be exactly what the Tigers need.

The Fighting Irish allowed 291 points in their last seven games and finished 86th in the country in points allowed per game. They gave up 55 to Arizona State, 49 to USC, 43 to North Carolina and 43 to Northwestern.

Head coach Brian Kelly understands that his offense needs to keep the vulnerable defense off the field, according to Stats LLC, via ESPN.com: "We'll have to do a great job of keeping our defense off the field, and our offense has a lot to say about what goes on there. These are important practices and we're better at (the quarterback) position because of it."

Matt York/Associated Press

If the Fighting Irish are going to do that, they will need a solid day from the quarterback duo of Everett Golson and Malik Zaire. Golson finished with an impressive 3,355 yards and 29 touchdowns, but he also threw 14 interceptions and coughed it up 22 times. Thanks to that turnover inclination, Notre Dame will split time between the two quarterbacks against LSU. 

That could be a problem against an opportunistic Tigers defense. LSU finished fourth in passing yards allowed, eighth in total yards allowed and third in scoring defense. It also won't be caught off guard by either quarterback, as JJ Stankevitz of CSN Chicago noted:

Notre Dame is also fairly one-dimensional. It is 16th in passing yards per game and 84th in rushing yards per game.

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

The Tigers will pin their ears back and attack the mistake-prone Golson or the inexperienced Zaire and make life difficult for either signal-caller. The Fighting Irish do not boast a formidable enough running game to take the pressure off the quarterbacks, which means the Tigers defense should put its offense in ideal positions to score.

Look for Fournette to respond accordingly against Notre Dame’s weak defense. He will rack up critical second-half scores on the way to a victory as the Fighting Irish struggle to keep up. 

Prediction: LSU 28, Notre Dame 17

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