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Mystery hung over preparations for the Music City Bowl up until Monday afternoon, just 24 hours before kickoff. Not even players in the Notre Dame locker room knew who their starting quarterback would be.
After Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly benched quarterback Everett Golson in the team’s regular season finale, he opened up the quarterback competition, giving sophomore Malik Zaire a chance to win the job while maintaining that both quarterbacks will play.
In Monday’s coaches press conference in Nashville, Kelly announced that Zaire would get his first collegiate start against LSU, reiterating that Zaire and Golson would both play.
It makes no difference to Les Miles’ Tigers.
Miles on Zaire starting: “I would guess we would see the best that Notre Dame has on offense.” #LSU
— Ross Dellenger (@DellengerAdv) December 29, 2014
Les on playing mobile QBs: “We really haven’t treated them any differently than tall, slow guys.”
— James Moran (@SmartestMoran) December 29, 2014
Miles and John Chavis know what they have in this LSU defense: a young, fast, physical unit that can play against anyone. From the way Miles put it, the Tigers weren’t going to change their approach no matter which quarterback they were set to face.
Luckily, Golson and Zaire have a similar skill set. While Miles told Kelly in the press conference that he only has two and a half quarters worth of film on Zaire — from when he took over for Golson against Southern Cal — he didn’t make it seem like it would be an issue for the defense.
The Tigers have been preparing to face two quarterbacks throughout bowl practices, heeding Kelly’s decree of playing both Golson and Zaire. Either way, the Tigers will have the opportunities to make big plays.
Zaire doesn’t get an easy opponent to make his first career start against. Chavis consistently puts together one of the best defenses in the country, ranking in the top 15 nationally on an annual basis. The Tigers have one of the most talented secondaries in the country and the best pass defense in the SEC, and they’ll make like incredibly difficult for the inexperienced Zaire, who has thrown all of 20 passes in his short career.
If and when Golson gets into the game, LSU will have to look to capitalize. The senior had 22 turnovers on the season, including a nation-high eight lost fumbles. LSU only had 20 takeaways in 2014, ranking 10th in the SEC, but they certainly have the playmakers to force turnovers.
LSU’s highly rated pass defense will be there to make life difficult for both quarterbacks, and their experience — and failures — against running quarterbacks early in the season should pay off in dividends against the Irish’s mobile signal callers.
If we’re to believe Miles, the Tigers are ready for whichever quarterback trots out under center.
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.
