CITRUS BOWL
LSU squares off against Notre Dame in a high-wattage matchup.
Records: No. 16 LSU 9-3, No. 14 Notre Dame 9-3. Series history: Notre Dame leads 6-5.
Key players: LSU — QB Danny Etling, RB Derrius Guice, NT Greg Gilmore; Notre Dame — QB Brandon Wimbush, RB Josh Adams, CB Julian Love.
Who has the edge
Offense — Even. The Irish had the more productive unit this season, but Wimbush, who completed less than 50 percent of his passes (133-of-267), will be without three of his top four pass catchers for the Citrus Bowl. WR Chase Claypool (shoulder) is injured, and WR Kevin Stepherson and TE Alize Mack are suspended. Meanwhile, Guice, who is expected to play in the bowl game, averaged 5.3 yards per carry, finishing the regular season with 1,153 yards and 11 touchdowns on 216 rushes.
Defense — LSU. The Irish had the more productive unit this season, but Wimbush, who completed less than 50 percent of his passes (133-of-267), will be without three of his top four pass catchers for the Citrus Bowl. WR Chase Claypool (shoulder) is injured, and WR Kevin Stepherson and TE Alize Mack are suspended. Meanwhile, Guice, who is expected to play in the bowl game, averaged 5.3 yards per carry, finishing the regular season with 1,153 yards and 11 TDs on 216 rushes. Special teams — Notre Dame. LSU kickers Connor Culp and Jack Gonsoulin combined to go just 4-of-9 on FGs in their last three games, with misses from 25, 26 and 32 yards. Notre Dame K Justin Yoon is 12-of-16 but has only one miss in the Irish’s last seven games, and that was from 50 yards against Wake Forest. LSU’s D.J. Clark has two punt-return TDs.
Notable: The Irish hold a onegame lead in the all-time series but the Tigers lead 2-1 in bowl meetings. Notre Dame beat LSU, then coached by Les Miles, 3128 in the 2014 Music City Bowl. Orgeron previously announced DE Arden Key and LBs Corey Thompson and Donnie Alexander will miss the Citrus Bowl, but he expected Guice to play, despite not practicing, officially with an injury.
About LSU: The Tigers inished the season on a three-game winning streak, with wins over Arkansas (33-10), Tennessee (3010) and Texas A&M (45-21). They rolled over the Aggies, racking 601 yards and 27 first downs behind Guice (28-127, one TD rushing), RB Darrel Williams (12-106, 1 TD) and Etling, who threw for 347 yards and three TDs.
About Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish were rolling with a sevengame winning streak after beating Wake Forest 48-37 but they dropped two of their final three games to Miami (41-8) and Stanford (38-20), which rallied from a 20-17 lead with 21 points in the fourth quarter. Wimbush completed 11 of 28 passes for 29 yards, two TDs and two INTs in the loss. Adams was slowed by injuries late in the season but briefly joined the Heisman Trophy conversation and boasts 1,386 yards and nine TDs on 191 rushes.
WHEN: NOON MONDAY WHERE: CAMPING WORLD STADIUM; ORLANDO, FLA. TV: ABC RADIO: 97.5 FM