Sugar Bowl

Notre Dame’s offense has been anything but offensive in ’06. The Irish won 10 games this year

LSU has been on the defensive all season. The Tigers statistically rank third in the nation in total defense.

mainly because of their offensive juggernaut. Notre Dame ranks 10th in passing offense nationally with an average of 273.8 yards per game and 12th in total offense while racking up 32.4 points per contest. The ground game doesn’t have flashy stats, but that doesn’t mean the Irish don’t pack a punch on the run. Thanks in large part to tailback Darius Walker, ND has produced an average of 124.2 yards per game on the ground. Amazingly, that ranks only 76th in the NCAA.

LSU is holding opponents under 100 yards rushing per contest and less than 150 yards through the air. On a whole, the Tigers are surrendering only 238.8 total yards per contest and rank sixth in sacks by averaging over three a game. Mix all of these facets together and you get a unit that ranks fifth nationally in scoring defense. LSU is giving up just 12.5 points per game, so good luck trying to light up the score board Notre Dame.

Notre Dame’s secondary vs. Dwayne Bowe, Early Doucet and Craig Davis. The much-maligned

No. 3 rated pass efficiency defense vs. Brady Quinn. LSU is giving up just 145.5 passing yards per game

Irish secondary is going to face one of its biggest tests of the season. Against Michigan’s duo of Mario Manningham and Steve Breaston, ND gave up 220 receiving yards and three passing touchdowns. Then against the combination of USC receivers Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith, the Irish were burned for 265 yards and three more passing touchdowns. Strong safety Tom Zbikowski is a heavy hitter in the run game, but overall, the ND secondary lacks great coverage skills. Cornerback Terrail Lambert must be physical in coverage or expect LSU quarterback LaMarcus Russell to have a huge passing day.

while Quinn is throwing for an average of 278.6 per contest. Quinn has also thrown 35 touchdown passes this season, including back to back four-touchdown games against North Carolina and Air Force. Quinn even tossed five touchdowns in a come from behind win over Michigan State. This LSU secondary isn’t MSU or Air Force, however, and thrives off of playmaker LaRon Landry. The free safety only has two interceptions this season, but is great in coverage and also plays the run extremely well. These are far and away the best match ups to watch unfold come January 3.

Notre Dame must cause turnovers on defense and get LSU to make mistakes. Simply put, the Irish don't

As previously noted, the Tigers are so tough defensively. The LSU defense is tenacious, fast and

have enough firepower defensively to contend with the Tigers offense. Going against top offenses like Michigan and USC this season, ND was completely blown out early. The Irish can expect the same if they can’t get LSU to cough the ball up. The good news for ND is that the Tigers are 61st in turnover margin among Division 1A programs. LSU can be careless with the ball and will need to be for the Irish to get the upset. Defensive lineman Victor Abiamiri has been solid this season and often makes plays. Likewise for safety Tom Zbikowski, but the rest of the secondary is suspect. Defensive coordinator Rick Minter is going to have to mix up his coverage schemes in order to contain LSU’s explosive receiving corps. If the defense can make a play or two, ND does have the horses on offense to hang in a shootout. The only problem is that the Tigers are so stout defensively that the Irish won’t have many scoring opportunities. Quarterback Brady Quinn is going to have to show pinpoint accuracy. Quinn is going to need to be quick with his decisions too, because the LSU secondary is fantastic at breaking to the ball. Free safety LaRon Landry is one of the best ball hawks in college football, so Quinn will need to throw the ball well before receivers Jeff Samardzija and Rhema McKnight get out of their breaks. The good news for ND is that the running game was more effective as the season wore on. The bad news is that the success came against weak competition. Tailback Darius Walker managed a total of just 112 yards against UCLA and USC combined, which are both top run defenses. LSU isn’t going to provide any breaks in the ground game for Walker and the Irish. The best plan of attack is to use Walker much like the Philadelphia Eagles use Brian Westbrook: line him up all over the field. Walker is fast enough and a great pass catcher out of the backfield, so that he can lineup in multiple formations. This may confuse the Tigers and open the field up for Samardzija and McKnight. Screens with Walker probably won’t work because LSU is so fast, but having him release late out of the backfield may be an option. Either way, now is the time to lean on the NFL-bound Quinn. The Irish offensive line has been inconsistent this season, but Quinn has not. He has been the worth the price of admission in every Notre Dame game this year and now is Quinn’s time to shine. The relationship that Quinn has built with Samardzija has been great, so the Irish can’t back away from the passing game even though LSU is so strong defensively. ND needs to put the game in Quinn’s hands and let him work his magic. Walker needs to provide relief, but this is Quinn’s show and the Irish will live or die on the right arm of their quarterback.

unyielding when opposing offenses are backed up with poor field position. The backbone of the Tigers defense is the line and the anchor is tackle Glenn Dorsey. The best way to beat Notre Dame’s explosive passing attack is to get major pressure on quarterback Brady Quinn. The senior quarterback is the key to the whole offensive attack, but he gets nervous when a ton of pressure is applied. Dorsey should provide the quick burst needed to get in Quinn’s face and disrupt Quinn’s passing lanes. Quinn doesn’t move too well, so keeping him in the pocket won’t be that hard. Defensive ends Chase Pittman and Tyler Jackson have combined for 13.5 sacks this season, so the Irish should have their hands full on the offensive line. Keeping ND receivers Jeff Samardzija and Rhema McKnight in check will be the biggest obstacle in LSU’s way towards victory. However, safety LaRon Landry doesn’t get fooled easily and is fast enough to make up ground if his cornerbacks need him in deep coverage. While the defense will be put to the biggest test, the Tigers offense can’t fall asleep against what should be a nice match up with ND’s defense. Junior quarterback JaMarcus Russell has been solid in LSU’s six-game winning streak and has really emerged as a junior. Russell is now considered one of the best quarterback prospects in the country. Russell is quite a physical specimen at 6’6” and 252lbs. He has great arm strength and average mobility, but he didn’t mature into a true quarterback until the second half of the season. That’s probably one of the biggest reasons why LSU is playing in the Sugar Bowl instead of the national championship. Russell has phenomenal tools at his disposal in receivers Dwayne Bowe, Craig Davis and Early Doucet. Head coach Les Miles can spread the field against the Irish and pick on the ND secondary all day. Deep passing routes with Bowe and Doucet could really create wide running lanes for Alley Brossard, Jacob Hester and Keiland Williams as well as open up the middle of the field for Davis. If LSU can get strong safety Tom Zbikowski to commit to the passing game, the ground game should take shape seeing has how Zbikowski is so stout against the run. Getting defensive end Victor Abiamiri out of the picture will have to be a focus too. Abiamiri is ND’s best pass rusher, so stacking the protection to his side will be the Tigers best option to keep him out of Russell’s grill. Using any one of the backs in pass protection against Abiamiri would be useful too. If Russell gets the necessary time to set his feet and throw, sophomore cornerback Terrail Lambert could serve as a whipping post for LSU.

This is what Charlie Weis was hired for. Or, at least, you'd think Notre Dame went out and got Weis to win

Home cookin’ for LSU. Being in their own backyard can be either a blessing or a curse for the Tigers.

the big game. Was he not given the key to South Bend because of his strategic offensive game plans and masterful schemes? This is where Weis makes his money. He won multiple Super Bowl rings with the New England Patriots because he could design schemes to attack the weaknesses of a defense. LSU has one of the best defenses in the country, but Weis is just the man to design a game plan that the Tigers haven’t seen this season. ND’s best approach is to come up with something LSU is going to have trouble adjusting to. Weis was hired for this moment, now it’s time to really put that mind to work.

Playing on the Superdome carpet could be a huge advantage for the Tigers in terms of fan base if the team can stay focused. Notre Dame has one of the largest fan bases out of any program in the NCAA, so the Tigers faithful should get a run for their money. However, LSU really needs to use the lack of travel in its favor and not get distracted in front of what could be a home crowd. Many people think that LSU and not Florida was the best SEC team, so this is one last chance for the Tigers to prove the BCS voters wrong.

What most people don’t know about senior quarterback Brady Quinn is that he’s extremely strong. It has

So where do Les Miles’ true feelings lie? Is he more purple and yellow or maize and blue? Miles

been documented that he can bench press 350 pounds and squat 475. He also has some stars on the family tree. Quinn’s brother-in-law is Green Bay Packers rookie linebacker A.J. Hawk and his second cousin is Zachary Ty Bryan, who starred as Brad Taylor on television’s “Home Improvement.” ...Okay, so we're not sure how much 'fun' being related to Brad actually is, but give us credit for trying!

attended the University of Michigan, where he was a two-year letterman under legendary coach Bo Schembechler in 1974-75. In 1980, Miles returned to UM as an assistant to Schembechler. After a stint as a coach at Colorado, Miles returned to the Wolverines in 1987and remained at UM for eight successful years. From 1987 to 1994, Michigan had one of the most successful programs in all of college football. So which is it coach: LSU or UM?