MUSIC CITY BOWL: Notre Dame @ LSU Liqor Cabinet - Bay St. Louis Notre Dame has stumbled to end the season, but the Irish have a chance to end 2014 on a high note when they face No. 23 LSU in the Music City Bowl TODAY (2 p.m. ESPN). Line: LSU -8.5, Total: 52.5 Line movement: The Tigers opened -8.5 at The Wynn and were bet down to -8 within a day. By Christmas Eve, The Wynn adjusted to -7.5, the consensus number around Las Vegas the day before kickoff. But late money has come in on LSU, as the Tigers were bet up to -9 at The Wynn. The total at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook was bet up from 51.5 to 52.5 Visit our live odds page for updated point spreads and totals. Trends that matter: Notre Dame ended the season losing four straight contests and five of its last six. Furthermore, the Irish havent covered since Oct. 18 at Florida State. … The Irish are 4-0-1 to the OVER in their last five games. … LSU avoided a three-game losing streak (straight-up and against the spread) with a 23-17 win over Texas A&M to end the season. … The Tigers have stayed UNDER in their last five contests. If you have two QBs… After struggling mightily in Notre Dames regular-season finale versus USC, quarterback Everett Golson was replaced by sophomore Malik Zaire. While coach Brian Kelly has said that both quarterbacks are likely to play against LSU, hes reportedly settled on Zaire as the starter. The worry for Irish backers is that a two-QB system often leads to a lack of offensive rhythm and cohesiveness. Against an elite LSU defense, the Irish can ill-afford to leave points and yards on the field, but employing a QB rotation puts Notre Dame at risk of doing exactly that. Ground and pound: Notre Dame is coming into this bowl matchup having allowed an average of 221.2 yards per game over the last four -- all losses. Thats not even the worst part: not one of those four teams had a top-50 rushing attack. LSU, however, does boast a top-50 (27th) running game behind freshman Leonard Fournette and senior Terrence Magee. If the Tigers get their ground game going to complement their harassing defense, it could be a very long day for the Irish. Weather: Weather should not be a factor, as forecasts call for temperatures in the high 30s, low 40s but sunny skies, no perception and light winds. Visit Weather Underground for an updated forecast. The Linemakers lean: LSU puts the far superior defense on the field in Nashville and faces a Notre Dame team that is choosing an odd time to experiment with a two-quarterback system. Were laying the points. If youre on board with us, we hope you were able to find -7 before it was too late.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 18:30:31 +0000
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