Here’s a couple grades after LSU’s 31-28 loss to Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl on Tuesday:

OFFENSE: B

Need an early SEC Heisman favorite for 2015? Leonard Fournette’s your guy after a mesmerizing 264-total yard performance against Notre Dame in Nashville. Fournette managed 143 yards rushing, two touchdowns and returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score. Something’s wrong offensively when you run the football 38 times and only 11 of those carries go to one of the nation’s top freshman tailbacks. Sophomore Anthony Jennings gave the Tigers his usual pedestrian performance from the pocket, but did establish a working relationship with tight end DeSean Smith who entered the contest without a catch this season. Jennings’ draw fake and 75-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the second half to John Diarse for the Tigers was his best throw.

DEFENSE: C-

What happened to SEC speed? The Tigers were supposed to have the edge in the trenches against the Irish, but Notre Dame owned the physical battle from the start, rushing 263 yards and three touchdowns including a stellar outing from quarterback Malik Zaire. One of the Power 5’s worst teams in turnover margin coming in with 26 giveaways this season, Notre Dame avoided mistakes against the SEC’s top defense and even made plays in the passing game, notably on third down. Three of the Irish’s four touchdown drives spanned at least 10 plays as Brian Kelly’s team battered and bruised the Tigers throughout.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C

Sans Fournette’s second-quarter house call, LSU’s ineptitude in the kicking game came back to haunt the Tigers. If a blocked field goal try early in the fourth quarter wasn’t enough, LSU’s decision to try a fake on 4th-and-goal in the second quarter took potential points off the board. It appeared Brad Kragthorpe’s dive toward the goal line was enough to break the plane on replay, but the play stood and the Irish went into the locker room with a seven-point advantage.

COACHING: C

It’s easy to question a coaching staff after a postseason loss with weeks to prepare, but the offensive game plan — while vanilla — appeared to work despite a few faulty throws from Jennings despite an established pocket. The Tigers averaged 7.5 yards per carry, only turned it over once on a mishandled zone-read exchange and made plays in the passing game when they were there. This loss was on the defense, perhaps John Chavis’ final game as the Tigers’ longtime coordinator.

OVERALL: C

You have to give Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson, a former Heisman frontrunner early in the season, credit for coming off the bench and leading his team on a game-winning drive. Thanks to costly interceptions and fumbles during the Irish’s four-game skid coming in, Golson lost his job to Zaire and split time with the sophomore during Tuesday’s game. On the final drive, Golson completed 4-of-5 passes including a key 12-yard gain on 3rd-and-10 near midfield. It wasn’t LSU’s best game defensively and Notre Dame took advantage with a balanced, well-planned attack.