Everyone knew Leonard Fournette would be a star, and the former five-star recruit proved it in the Music City Bowl.

As good as the freshman was in Nashville on Tuesday, his best efforts were undone by LSU’s suddenly incompetent defense.

It seemed that every time Fournette got his hands on the ball, he made something happen, even though he had just 13 total touches. There was an 89-yard touchdown run, a 100-yard kickoff return and several big first downs throughout the game. As good as he was, he couldn’t help LSU’s defense get off the field.

The Tigers had the No. 1 defense in the SEC this year, allowing  just 305 yards per game. Notre Dame far outpaced that total, gaining 449 yards of total offense. After tightening up the run defense following two consecutive SEC losses early in the year, the same issues cropped back up against Notre Dame’s mobile quarterbacks, the same type of player that shredded LSU in September and October.

Both Fournette and the defense improved rapidly over the course of the season. The freshman struggled in waiting for blocks and holes to develop for him, while the defense simply couldn’t stop teams from running up the gut for huge chunks. Both of those issues seemed to heal as the young Tigers gained valuable experience.

By the end of the season, both Fournette and the defense were roaring. Fournette finished off the regular season with a career-best 146 yards against Texas A&M, while the defense surged to the top spot in the SEC and had one of the best pass defenses in the country.

Fournette picked up right where he left off against the Aggies, with 264 total yards and two touchdowns, but the defense reverted to its early-season form, when it gave up 600 combined rushing yards to Mississippi State and Auburn. The Tigers whiffed on tackle after tackle, allowing Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire to pick up 96 yards on the ground on an array of keepers and designed runs and the Fighting Irish picked up 263 rushing yards in total. The Irish out-LSU’ed the Tigers, controlling the clock with the run throughout.

To make matters worse, the issues with third-down defense that plagued LSU in previous years was as bad as ever on Tuesday. After allowing opponents to convert less than 40 percent of their third down tries this season, LSU watched Notre Dame convert 11-of-17. The Irish were so confident in their ability to run the ball that they ran it on seven third down tries.

Just as it was early in the season, LSU’s front seven was dominated at the point of attack. Notre Dame’s offensive line beat up LSU’s thin defensive line, and even standout linebackers Kwon Alexander and Kendell Beckwith struggled to get off of blocks and wrap up ball carriers.

Despite the Irish being one of the most turnover-prone teams in the country, LSU could do nothing to get the ball away from the Irish. In a game in which the Tigers couldn’t stop the run, even a single turnover forced would have gone a long way to swing the game.

There were a multitude of other issues for LSU. As it has been all season, the passing game was nearly non-existent, save for a long touchdown pass to start the second half. The special teams struggled more than ever outside of Fournette’s kick return, with a shanked punt, having a field goal blocked and several poor kickoffs.

LSU will get Fournette back next year, and he’ll be the star everyone expects. Hopefully by then, Miles and Cam Cameron will learn to treat him like the workhorse he has the ability to be. The defense, though, is marked with questions. The Tigers could once again lose several key players to the NFL draft a year early. Even worse, whispers of defensive coordinator John Chavis leaving LSU for SEC West rival Texas A&M are getting louder, with Miles doing nothing to deny them after the game.

Defensive inexperience cost LSU early this season, and the same issues cropped back up to end the year. It wasted the best effort of Fournette’s young LSU career, an aberration for the latter half of the season. Hopefully for the Tigers, that doesn’t remain the story next year as Fournette emerges as a star.