Behind Enemy Lines: Q&A with Bryan Driskell, Notre Dame beat writer

The Music City Bowl provides fans with a unique matchup between some of the nation’s most prestigious college football programs.

LSU and Notre Dame both had high expectations this season as both teams were ranked in the top 10 at one point during the season, but here they are meeting in Nashville, Tenn.

SDS spoke with Bryan Driskell of Irish Sports Daily to get a sense of what kind of preparation Notre Dame is having prior to its matchup with LSU. We get his thoughts on ND’s plan to stop Leonard Fournette as well as his prediction for how the bowl game will play out.

Drew Laing: Talk about the growth Everett Golson has shown this season from where we last saw him in 2012.

Bryan Driskell: It has been an interesting season for Golson. In 2012 he was asked to make just enough plays to keep teams honest. Notre Dame beat teams with a strong ground attack and dominant defense. Golson used his legs and arm to make the occasional play, but the burden for victory was not necessarily thrust upon his shoulders. This season was quite the opposite. Notre Dame’s success was largely determined by how well he did or did not play. During the first half of the season, Golson responded incredibly well. He completed 62.5 percent of his passes while racking up 1,889 yards of offense and 20 touchdowns despite playing against three top 30 defenses. As the defense began to struggle, more pressure was put on Golson’s shoulders and he didn’t respond well. In the final six games, Golson completed just 57.5 percent of his passes, racked up just 1,743 yards and 17 touchdowns but he turned ball over 13 times.

Golson showed himself  to be a farm more dynamic passer in 2014. He was able to use his athleticism to buy time in the pocket and Brian Kelly allowed him to use his strong arm to attack teams downfield with greater consistency. Golson did a good job not locking in on one receiver and spreading the ball around. He just needs to figure out a way to go through his progressions with better consistency and he absolutely must learn to protect the football better.

Laing: LSU has a number of impact freshman this season (Fournette, Dupre, etc.). What, if any, freshmen have stood out this season for ND and could make an impact in the bowl game?

Driskell: Notre Dame has used a lot of freshmen this season, especially on defense. Notre Dame started four freshmen on defense at different points this season, two of which will start against LSU, freshman linebacker Nyles Morgan and defensive end Andrew Trumbetti. Morgan racked up 31 tackles in the final three games, flashing the talent that made him one of the nation’s top ranked linebackers as a prep player. Trumbetti has also seen his minutes and production improve down the stretch. The difficult part for Notre Dame in this matchup is the Irish will be counting on five true freshmen to slow down LSU’s vaunted ground game, which is not an easy thing to do.

Laing: ND has been average against the run this year. How do you think the Fighting Irish hold up against LSU’s bevy of RBs, especially against a guy like Fournette?

Driskell: Well, it depends on which defense shows up. Notre Dame held its first seven opponents to just 96.7 yards per game. The following week starting mike linebacker Joe Schmidt was lost for the season with a broken ankle and nose guard Jarron Jones started to get hampered by injuries. Two weeks later, captain Sheldon Day went down with a knee injury and missed the final 2 1/2 games. Jones was injured on the first series against Louisville and was lost for the year. His backup, Daniel Cage, also missed two games late with an injury. During that stretch, Notre Dame allowed opponents to rush for a staggering 244.2 yards per game.

Notre Dame will field a different looking lineup against LSU. 287-pound strong side end Issac Rochell will move inside and start alongside Day, who is healthy again. The injuries allowed Cage, Hayes and redshirt freshman Jacob Matuska to get a lot of much needed reps. Despite the loss of Jones, Notre Dame will have a far deeper defensive line in this matchup, which it will need. Notre Dame’s concern in this matchup is it lacks ideal size, as only Cage weighs over 290 pounds. Notre Dame will have to counter by using its speed and quickness to get penetration and to throw off the timing of the LSU ground game. If Fournette and Magee are able to get downhill with no disruptions it’s going to be a long day for the Irish.

Laing: What matchup will you be watching the most throughout the game?

Driskell: Offensively, I am looking forward to seeing Will Fuller matchup against LSU’s talented cornerbacks. Fuller racked up 71 catches for 1,037 yards and 14 touchdowns as a true sophomore. He had 5 catches for 109 yards and a score against Louisville, who has the No. 8 pass efficiency defense in the country. Fuller has outstanding speed, quickness and ball skills but he is thin, so seeing him try to get off the line against LSU’s physical cornerbacks will be interesting. Notre Dame’s secondary receivers will also have to make plays against the LSU safeties.

Defensively, the main matchup to watch is Day, Rochell and the backup tackles against LSU’s interior line. The Tigers have a significant size advantage over the Irish defensive linemen, but Day has had a lot of success against bigger linemen this season thanks to his outstanding quickness and ability to use his hands well. Cornerback Cole Luke has been outstanding all season and has faced some of the best receivers in the nation. He’ll be in a lot of man to man situations against LSU, so he’ll have to perform well to allow the safeties to get more involved in the run game.

Laing: Your prediction?

Driskell: It really is a tough game to get a read on. When I break down certain Notre Dame games I am confident it’ll win, and when I break down other games I don’t think it’ll have a chance. The same is true of LSU. When I watch the Tigers against Alabama, Kentucky and Florida, I think ND is in big trouble. When I watch the Tigers against Arkansas, Mississippi State and Auburn, I think ND is going to roll. I think this game is going to be competitive as long as Notre Dame  holds onto the football and shows balance offensively. I’m predicting a 24-20 Notre Dame Victory.

Drew Laing

Drew Laing will be providing analysis and insight on Florida, Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina.