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In mid-October, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish were ranked fifth in College Football with a perfect 6-0 record headed to Tallahassee to take on fellow-unbeaten Florida State. Nike MLB Jerseys . Following a narrow 31-27 loss to the Seminoles, in which they had a game-winning touchdown negated by a pass-interference penalty, Notre Dame’s season fell apart. Notre Dame will try to salvage their disappointing season against their first SEC opponent since the 2013 BCS Championship in LSU when the two vie for the Music City Bowl on December 30. Notre Dame rebounded from their Florida State loss with a 49-39 victory over Navy the next week, but then dropped four consecutive games to an end their season at a lackluster 7-5. As Notre Dame’s season fell to pieces, so did the play of starting quarterback Everett Golson. Golson, who started the season with seven touchdowns and no interceptions in his first three games, has turned the ball over at least once in every game since – including a four interception day against Arizona State in the first of the team’s four consecutive losses. Searching for answers heading in to the Music City Bowl, head coach Brian Kelly has yet to name his starting quarterback against LSU’s opportunistic defence. Kelly’s other option at quarterback is sophomore Malik Zaire, who took over for Golson in the team’s final game of the season against USC. Zaire led a touchdown drive upon entering the game, putting Notre Dame on the scoreboard but down 35-7 at the half. Zaire finished the game 9-of-20 for 170 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. Moving to Zaire could be a look at the future for Notre Dame as Golson is a redshirt junior (and NFL draft eligible), but the sophomore Zaire lacks experience, having never seen truly competitive game action. There’s no quarterback controversy for LSU and Anthony Jennings, but there’s not much expectation either. Jennings topped 200 yards passing just once this season as LSU averaged just 164 passing yards a game – fourth lowest in the FBS. Instead, the Tigers attack this season has been based on running the ball and playing defence. Led by freshman standout Leonard Fournette, LSU averaged 219 yards on the ground per game, 29th in Division 1. Fournette needs 111 yards rushing to break the LSU freshman running record. He will have to chance to reach that record in the Music City Bowl, as Notre Dame allowed at least 170 yards rushing in each of their final four games and an average of 151 yards on the season. The strength of LSU is in their defence, which only allowed more than 30 points once and allowed no more than 20 points in their final five games. LSU’s average of 16.4 points against per game ranks third in the FBS, while their average of 162 yards allowed through the air ranks fourth. The Tigers defence also forced 19 turnovers over the course of the season. However, it was not the defence that dropped LSU to an 8-4 record. The Tigers entered the most pivotal part of their season ranked 16th, at 7-2, with SEC games against Alabama, Arkansas and Texas A&M remaining. Following an overtime 20-13 loss to Alabama, the LSU offence was completely shut down by Arkansas, 17-0. The Tigers then closed their season with a 23-17 over the Aggies to regain a top-25 ranking. Notre Dame will need an improved defensive effort to top the Tigers, though. The Fighting Irish defence averaged 29 points allowed in the regular season, more than LSU averaged scoring (28). For Notre Dame, this game offers coach Brian Kelly and the veterans of his team a small chance for revenge against the SEC. The Fighting Irish haven’t played a team from the conference since the 2013 BCS Championship game, in which their perfect season was derailed by an embarrassing 42-14 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide. Not surprisingly, LSU enters this contest as seven-point favourites and, given Notre Dame’s quarterback situation and history against the SEC, should be able claim their second consecutive bowl win. Eye on Sunday LT Ronnie Stanley, Notre Dame Stanley is widely projected to be a top-10 pick in April’s NFL Draft should the redshirt sophomore declare himself. Having played right tackle in his first season and left tackle this year, Stanley is a versatile pass protector who can shut down opponents. It’s hard to spend a game watching the left tackle, but don’t expect to see a blindside hit on the Notre Dame quarterback, whoever that may be. LT La’el Collins, LSU Collins is also projected to be first-round pick and is often largely involved in LSU’s dominant running attack. If Fournette has a big game and breaks LSU’s freshman record, Collins will likely be a major reason why. DE Danielle Hunter, LSU Hunter is viewed as a fringe first-round pick in many NFL circles, and his value could be put to the test if he lines up against Stanley. At six-foot-six, Hunter hasn’t registered high sack numbers this season, but disrupts the passing game through batted passes and quarterback hurries. Adidas NHL Jerseys 2020 .com) - Damian Lillard poured in 40 points on 11-of-21 shooting to go along with 11 assists, and the Portland Trail Blazers stunned the Oklahoma City Thunder, 115-111, in overtime on Tuesday. MLB Jerseys 2020 . Louis Cardinals are one of Major League Baseballs model franchises.CHICAGO -- Once again, the Cardinals relied on Matt Adams clutch bat. Adams drove in four runs, A.J. Pierzynski had three hits in his St. Louis debut and the Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 6-3 on Saturday to stop a four-game skid. Adams doubled sharply in the first inning, a one-hopper that bounced past first baseman Anthony Rizzo and into right field to score two runs. Adams two-run triple with two outs in the seventh made it 5-2. "He was our guy today," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "If you look at when we started to gain some traction in our division, its when Matt started to go. Not to put the pressure on him, but he was the guy at the time and hes continued to do that, to step up big for us." Helping out Adams was the 37-year-old Pierzynski, who signed with the Cardinals on Saturday, 10 days after he was released by Boston. St. Louis had been looking for a steady presence behind the plate since All-Star catcher Yadier Molina tore a ligament in his right thumb July 9. Molina had surgery two days later and is expected to miss eight to 12 weeks. "That was pretty much a cram session for A.J. there," Matheny said. "He did a nice job coming in, obviously making an impact with the bat, but I felt like he had a nice feel for what Shelby (Miller) was doing." Miller returned to the Cardinals rotation and pitched effectively into the sixth inning. The young right-hander began the game with three perfect innings and retired 16 of his first 18 batters. In his first start since being removed from the rotation July 10, Miller allowed two runs and three hits in 5 2-3 innings. He had given up at least three runs in his previous five starts. Randy Choate (2-2) got the last out of the sixth. Trevor Rosenthal worked around two hits in a scoreless ninth, earning his 31st save in 35 tries. "When you get in a groove and youre feeling pretty good, in a rhythm, you just keep going," Miller said. "Thats kind of what I felt like I did today. Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys. " Nate Schierholtz hit a solo shot for the Cubs in the sixth, tying it at 2. It was Schierholtzs fourth career pinch-hit homer. Rizzo drove in a run with a groundout in the fourth. Cubs starter Jake Arrieta settled in after the two-run first inning, allowing just three baserunners the rest of the way. He thwarted Cardinals threats in the fourth and fifth, and a diving catch by left fielder Chris Coughlan helped Arrieta escape the sixth. "He did it with not his best stuff, but he was still pretty effective," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "That performance was probably indicative of how much hes grown." With Arrieta out of the game, the Cardinals pulled back ahead in the seventh, scoring four runs against reliever James Russell (0-2). Jon Jay hit a leadoff single, advanced on a sacrifice and stole third before scoring the tiebreaking run on Matt Carpenters grounder. Russells four earned runs allowed marked his worst outing since July 21, 2012, when he gave up six, also against the Cardinals. Ryan Sweeney hit a leadoff homer against Pat Neshek in the eighth, his third home run of the season and second this series. NOTES: Adams had only four RBIs in his previous 23 games against the Cubs. ... Pierzynski, who batted sixth for the Cardinals, was booed loudly by the Wrigley Field crowd during his first at-bat. Pierzynski played seven seasons on the south side of Chicago for the White Sox. ... The Cubs optioned RHP Neil Ramirez to Triple-A Iowa and recalled RHP Blake Parker. The 25-year-old Ramirez has a 0.96 ERA in 33 appearances this season. Renteria indicated the move was made to give Ramirez a rest and was not based on performance. ... Rizzo went 0 for 4, ending his 10-game hitting streak. ... Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright (12-5, 2.02 ERA) pitches the series finale Sunday against Kyle Hendricks (1-0, 2.77), who will make his third big league start. ' ' '