ORLANDO, Fla. — The quality of running that LSU’s Derrius Guice possesses is obvious. The junior showed his pass-catching abilities out of the backfield on Monday, hauling in two touchdown passes and coming within a yard of a third score. But it still wasn’t enough for the Tigers as Notre Dame rallied for a 21-17 victory in the 2018 Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium.

Guice reminded us early of what he does best. His 31-yard run early in the game flipped the field for LSU and displayed the speed, grace and power that NFL scouts have noticed. Guice found a crease in the Notre Dame line and broke through it into the secondary where he discarded an Irish defender with a stinging stiff arm to pick up additional yardage.

Guice reached a milestone with the electrifying run, his third carry of the game. He came into the day needing just 24 yards to become the fifth running back in LSU history to reach 3,000 yards for his career.

His decision to stay for one more year or go pro will be forthcoming.

“Me and Coach O (Ed Orgeron) just have to have a good conversation about it,” Guice said of his future.

Guice carried just two more times in the next 13 minutes, with his last tote a 3-yard gain on LSU’s final drive of the first quarter. He played sparingly after that and was only used as a decoy in the backfield, including a third-and-goal from inside the Irish 1-yard line.

Instead, Tigers quarterback Danny Etling came up short on a sneak attempt, and following a procedure penalty, the Tigers came up empty when kicker Connor Culp missed a chip shot field goal. It was the third miss in his past five field-goal attempts. Jack Gonsoulin missed a 37-yard attempt with 2 minutes remaining in the first half.

Guice didn’t touch the ball again until 5 minutes left in the second quarter, his first of just two carries in the second quarter. Both went for no gain.

But that was by design and not because of any injury.

“It’s just how the game played out,” Guice told Saturday Down South. “I have a great running back (Darrel Williams) behind me. He got some touches, got some carries as well. It’s just about being a team player. I’m not crying and hoping for more carries and playing time. It’s all part of the gameplan.”

Guice got back in the flow, carrying on the second play of the third quarter, a 1-yard gain. He was the target of a pass, on an Etling scramble, that fell incomplete. Guice finished with 98 rushing yards on 21 carries.

Though he wasn’t as big a part of the offense as he was earlier in the game, Guice pulled in a short pass from Etling and scored the Tigers’ first touchdown. Guice was wide open and completed the 20-yard scoring play, running untouched to the goal line before carrying two Notre Dame defenders with him into the end zone.

And when the Tigers needed him down the stretch, Guice came through, carrying three straight times on the Tigers’ fourth-quarter touchdown drive before hauling in a quick 2-yard touchdown pass from Etling, who was outstanding in completing 19 of 33 passes for 229 yards.

Guice touched the ball on six of the 12 plays in a drive that gave the Tigers a short-lived 17-14 late in the fourth quarter. He rushed five times for 23 yards and took in a third-down shovel pass at the Notre Dame 2-yard line and came within inches of the end zone.

Guice said he thought he crossed the goal line.

“It’s my fault (I didn’t),” he said. “Next time I’ll have to make it more clear.”

Orgeron said he thought that going for the field goal rather than the touchdown in that situation, “gave our team the best chance to win.”

“I didn’t think they would drive down there and score on us,” Orgeron said of the Irish’s winning drive with time running out.