In mid-October, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish were ranked fifth in College Football with a perfect 6-0 record headed to Tallahas

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. Vapormax Bianche Uomo . 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. Vapormax Flyknit Saldi . The injury could land Machado on the 15-day disabled list, but its not as serious as it looked on Monday night, when the third baseman crumpled in a heap at the plate after taking an awkward swing in a game against the New York Yankees. Vapormax Uomo Saldi . -- Ricky Romeros comeback bid hit another road bump Tuesday in an ugly 18-4 Jays loss to a Detroit Tigers split squad. http://www.vapormaxscontateoutlet.it/vapormax-nere-scontate-outlet.html .com) - Bradley Beal deposited a season-high 33 points and John Wall posted another double-double as the Washington Wizards went on the road and beat the Houston Rockets, 104-103.TORONTO – They didnt draw it up exactly like that, but it was a victory no less. In beating Mike Smith in the final round of the shootout, Joffrey Lupul gave the Maple Leafs two points they so desperately needed. With five losses in the previous six games (and 11 in the previous 15), the ship in Toronto was (and still remains) in danger of veering noisily off track, but with a victory on Thursday night, the positive vibes certainly perked up. "It starts with one," said Lupul, following the 2-1 win over Phoenix. "We had a pretty good effort tonight. Maybe we werent our sharpest, but we fought hard and we battled and we got two points. Now you take some positives from it, come to the rink tomorrow feeling a little bit better about ourselves than we did today. We just start building positively." What they would like and certainly need to build toward is some level of consistency. The Leafs have dotted a good effort here with a good effort there, only to have subpar, dispiriting performances in the middle. A strong performance against the Kings was followed with a dud in St. Louis. A mesmerizing upset of the Blackhawks was followed by two disappointing efforts against the Penguins and Panthers. "Weve had various challenges and the latest challenge is winning hockey games," Randy Carlyle said before Thursdays victory. "But weve done some good things in there so lets not just focus on the negatives and the biggest negative is we havent played well enough to win and thats going to have to change. Were going to have to continue to find a way to develop more consistency and make less mistakes than the opposition or the team were playing against." Buoyed by a rare goal from their fourth line – Troy Bodie – the Leafs were level, if not ahead of the Coyotes for the opening half of Thursdays game. They kept the action mostly to the perimeter in the defensive zone, limited chances in the so-called critical areas and demonstrated the workmanlike effort that was missing two nights earlier. Phoenix rallied late in the second and into the third and may have snatched victory entirely – tying the score in the final five minutes on a goal from Martin Hanzal – if not for the 34 saves of James Reimer. It was the kind of effort, amid an increasingly worrying slump, that the Leafs needed. "Youre always looking for somebody to step up for you and obviously our goaltending has been one of our strongest suits," said Carlyle. "Both guys have really given us A-level quality goaltending all year and tonight was just another example of James Reimer stepping up. Were very, very fortunate to have him." Reimer was blunt after Tuesdays 3-1 loss to Florida, stating that the Leafs "either have half a team or a full team that dont show up at parts", while noting that injuries and fatigue were "excuses and theyre useless". Making a surprise start (more in Five Points), he backed up those comments with a sturdy performance. "I wanted to come in here and have a good game," said Reimer. "When you stand up and say stuff you want to back it up with an honest, solid effort." Five Points 1. Surprise Start It appeared that Jonathan Bernier would start against the Coyotes when Thursdays morning skate kicked off, but that changed quickly when the 25-year-old disclosed that he was not at an optimal level physically. "When Bernier said he wasnt 110 per cent, we said okay thats fine well go with Reimer," Carlyle said. Nursing a minor ailment, according to Carlyle, Bernier hadnt been on the ice on either Tuesday or Wednesday (an off-day for the team, as detailed above) and thus the team felt it unwise to force him in against Phoenix at less than 100 per cent. Reimer, who allowed three goals on 23 shots in his last start against the Panthers, hadnt made back-to-back starts since late November. He improved to 3-0 in shootouts this season. "We did a good job of keeping shots to the outside, but he did a really good job of fighting through some screens and battling in there," said Lupul. "Thats the one thing we know we can count on Reims for is compete level and battle." 2. Reset Carlyle gave his team two options following another off-kilter performance against Florida on Tuesday night. "Either you do the workout [that night] or well have a practice [Wednesday] and they chose that theyd rather do the half-hour workout after the game and take the day off and then get themselves ready for today," said Carlyle. Wednesday was no off-day for the coaching staff though. They huddled together for a full-scale evaluation, wanting to determine positives that werent being accentuated while eliminating some of the negatives simmering amid an increasingly concerning stretch. They presented that plan to the group on Thursday morning, also emphasizing the need for more aggressiveness on the forecheck and in the defensive zone. "We willl eventually find ways to have success," Carlyle said. Vapormax Bianche Ingrosso. "Weve got to push [out] everything that is happening outside. That white noise that we talk about has to become more of a reality – its on the outside of our circle." 3. Team Game Carlyles message on Thursday morning also included a pledge for the group to remain aligned with the team structure. "You cant have success in the National Hockey League without having a team thats going to play a system and play a strong team game," he said. Pointing to the five games that preceded Thursdays effort against Phoenix, Carlyle believed his team had improved on the forecheck, cut down on defensive miscues and allowed far fewer shots against (28 per game). It was the mistakes of individuals outside the system, he deemed, that were the problem. Case in point, Nazem Kadris offensive zone turnover which led to the Panthers first goal, Jake Gardiners indecisiveness with the puck which preceded the second, and Dion Phaneufs blunder which opened the door on the third. "And its cost us," said Carlyle. "You cant have mistakes that are going to continually be committed out there that are going to cost you goals." 4. Methods of Leadership Lupul, an alternate captain with the Leafs, said the team needed its leadership to set an example during a "really tough stretch of games" and in doing so, play within the aforementioned system. The tendency, he said, was to try to do more and in doing so, actually hurt the team by doing less. "You want to step up, but you want to make sure that youre staying with the team structure," said Lupul prior to Thursdays game. "Sometimes its easy to try and do too much and get off on your own page. You see that often when teams are struggling; guys really want to make an impact and theyre doing things that arent what usually makes them successful. Its a fine line between doing that and going out and just executing a good team game." 5. Fourth Line Troy Bodie was the only Leaf to beat Smith in regulation. Scoring his first as a Leaf, Bodie squeezed a rebound between the pads of the Phoenix netminder. The 28-year-old saw exactly one shift after that as Carlyle shortened his bench. "I didnt reward them much after that," said Carlyle. "They didnt play their fourth line and so do we play ours? We just made the decision we were going to stay with the lines that we had and went with it." Bodies marker was a rare contribution from the Toronto fourth line. "Any time you can get a contribution from your fourth line, its a huge bonus for the rest of your group," Carlyle said. "It elevates their value in the room, their self-worth, and they feel a lot better about themselves and they should be commended." Bonus Point I – Clarkson Assigned shutdown duties alongside Jay McClement and Nik Kulemin, David Clarkson played a season-high of nearly 22 minutes against the Coyotes. Though the line often had difficulty with the size of Phoenixs top grouping, which includes Martin Hanzal, Radim Vrbata and Tim Kennedy, Carlyle felt Clarkson made an impact on the game. "Much more involved," he said. Bonus Point II – Gardiner Carlyle met with Jake Gardiner on Thursday morning to address his recent benching against the Panthers. Gardiner remained on the bench for nearly 20 minutes of game action between the second and third periods. "Its not that hes been playing poorly," said Carlyle of the 23-year-old. "He had five or six good, strong games, but in two games, he makes mistakes and the puck ends up in our net – its hard to ignore as a coach. And I told him that. He feels that the mistakes he made are very easily improved [upon]... nd we agree. Hes a talented young player." Gardiner played 23 minutes against the Coyotes. Stats Pack 3-0 – Record for James Reimer in shootouts this season. 2 – Combined points in the past four games for the top line of Phil Kessel, Nazem Kadri and James van Riemsdyk. 12 – Combined shots for Kessel, Kadri and van Riemsdyk against the Coyotes. 1 – Regulation wins for the Leafs since Nov. 19. 21:31 – Ice-time for David Clarkson on Thursday, a season-high. 7 – Points in the last seven games for Peter Holland, who added an assist against the Coyotes. 1 – Goal for Troy Bodie with the Leafs, the 28-year-old scoring his first on Thursday night. 17 – Points for Cody Franson this season, first on the Leafs defence. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-3Season: 23.1% (4th) PK: 2-2Season: 77.6% (27th) Quote of the Night "Thats why I stayed around the net to take a peek." - James van Riemsdyk, on the shootout goal nearly disallowed on account of an ambiguous replay. Up Next The Leafs host the Red Wings for the first time this season during a Saturday night clash at the ACC. ' ' '