BATON ROUGE – LSU started its bowl preparations for the Music City Bowl and Notre Dame Monday as the 23rd-ranked Tigers held their first workout in nearly three weeks here at the Charles McClendon Practice Facility.
Monday’s workout was the first of what will be eight practices before the Tigers break for Christmas. Following a brief break for Christmas, LSU will resume its bowl practice with workouts in Baton Rouge on the 26th and 27th before departing for Nashville.
LSU and Notre Dame will meet for the first time since the 2007 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans when the Tigers and Irish square off in the Music City Bowl at 2 p.m. on Dec. 30. That game will represent the 11th overall meeting between the teams, three of which have come in bowl games. LSU is 5-5 overall against the Irish, but 2-0 in bowl games. In the last meeting between the teams, LSU won 41-14 in the Sugar Bowl.
“Today’s practice was designed to be ‘LSU vs. LSU’ with a fast tempo,” LSU coach Les Miles said after the practice. “We went two minutes for a number of segments against each other. We had a very nice go. It is nice getting the guys back on the field for the first time in a few weeks.
“To be honest with you, I don’t think we were rusty at all. We practiced outside. It was a windy day. I think we threw the ball pretty well into the wind and against the wind. Today was a nice practice and just what we needed.”
Miles said the Tigers will work “LSU vs. LSU’ again on Tuesday before introducing Notre Dame into the practice plan on Wednesday.
Against Notre Dame, the Tigers will face an Irish squad that lost four straight games to end the season with a 7-5 overall mark. However, before Notre Dame suffered its late-season losing streak, the Irish nearly beat top-ranked Florida State and climbed to as high as No. 5 in the nation after winning its first six games of the season.
“Coach Kelly does a great job of preparing them,” Miles said of Notre Dame. “You can see that they are well coached and talented. I recognize that they are a very good football team.”
Miles offered an injury update on a pair of seniors – running back Kenny Hilliard and center Elliott Porter. Miles said he’s optimistic that Hilliard will return in time for the bowl game, but that it’s unlikely that Porter will be able to play. Hilliard was injured in the first half against Alabama, while Porter suffered a season-ending injury a week later against Arkansas.