WHO: No. 14 Notre Dame (9-3) vs. No. 17 LSU (9-3)
WHAT: The 72nd Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl
WHEN: Jan. 1st at 1 p.m. ET on ABC
WHERE: Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida
THE SKINNY: There are few bowl matchups that excite quite like name brands Notre Dame and LSU clashing on a neutral field. While both of these top 25 teams enjoyed a bit of a bounce-back campaign in 2017, this year’s rematch of a postseason meeting from 2014 might be more about who isn’t playing in the game than who is.
For the Tigers, injuries have been a recurring theme for this team and fresh faces replacing big names is nothing new. Still, the number of impact guys that will be missing in action includes star pass rusher Arden Key and linebackers Corey Thompson and Donnie Alexander. Defensive coordinator Dave Aranda is the nation’s highest-paid coordinator for a reason though so no need to pour one out for him, but he still faces quite the challenge against an offense averaging over 35 points a game and rushing for over six yards a carry on the year.
Luckily for LSU, tailback Derrius Guice should be good to go in this one and he could provide a nice boost to a unit that has struggled with consistency at times. That could be one reason why offensive coordinator Matt Canada is reportedly on his way out the door but there’s still plenty of weapons to worry about from wideout D.J. Chark to underrated tight end John David Moore.
Notre Dame likewise has plenty of firepower on the offensive side but will be missing some key pieces after receiver Kevin Stepherson was suspended and the tight end position in particular is extremely thin. That might not matter much if junior tailback Josh Adams can get going running the football after compiling 1,386 yards at a whopping 7.3 yards per carry over the course of 2017. His stellar play has been key to the team’s resurgence from that 4-8 disaster from a season ago and helped starting quarterback Brandon Wimbush (16 TDs, six INTs) grow into the role.
While LSU enters the game trending a little higher than their opponent from the North based on how the end of the regular season played out, Notre Dame will no doubt be plenty motivated to hit the double-digit win plateau to cap a heck of a reversal from what happened last year. The Irish are still capable of playing like a team that was in the top five in the College Football Playoff rankings and have a healthier roster heading down to Orlando so it shouldn’t be surprising at all to see them take home a win over a solid SEC team to ring in the new year.
THE PICK: Notre Dame 31, LSU 23