NASHVILLE – LSU’s bowl week is officially underway as the 23rd-ranked Tigers arrived here at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel on Saturday afternoon after taking a short one-hour charter flight from Baton Rouge.
LSU, which is making its first appearance in the Music City Bowl, returned to practice after a two-day break from Christmas on Thursday. The Tigers practiced again this morning in Baton Rouge before departing for Nashville at about 3 p.m.
LSU and Notre Dame will meet for the first time since the 2007 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans at 2 p.m. on Tuesday at LP Field, the home of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans. The game will be televised on ESPN.
LSU is playing in a bowl game for a school-record 15th straight year and the Tigers bring an 8-4 overall mark into the contest. Notre Dame started the year 6-0 and climbed as high No. 5 in the nation before losing a thriller to Florida State in mid-October.
“We are excited to be here and for the opportunity to play in the Music City Bowl,” LSU coach Les Miles said upon arrival Saturday afternoon at the team’s bowl headquarters. “We understand that Notre Dame is a quality football team and we expect it to be a great game between two very strong programs.”
LSU arrived in Nashville today having already practiced 12 times for the game against Notre Dame, a span of workouts that has seen the Tigers make improvement on both sides of the ball.
“This is a young team that is maturing as we go,” Miles said. “We have had 12 practices and I think we are better than we’ve been. I think we have taken another step as a team. I’m looking forward to watching us play and see how the team that plays on Tuesday compares with the one that last played at Texas A&M in late November.”
Against the Irish, the Tigers will face a team that is expected to play two quarterbacks and a Notre Dame offense that is averaging 33 points and nearly 300 yards passing a contest. LSU’s defense is rated No. 1 in the SEC allowing 305.8 yards and only 16.4 points a game.
“I think it’s a great matchup,” Miles said of the LSU defense against the Notre Dame offense. “They score against everybody. We’re very proud of our defense. It should be fun to watch.
“The matchup is strong. These are two marquee college football teams meeting in a bowl game in a major city. I think our guys are fired up and I’m sure Notre Dame is as well. It’s two historic programs that have had a great deal of success and it should make a for a great bowl game.”
LSU Bowl Notebook
Both LSU and Notre Dame are staying at the same hotel for the Music City Bowl – The Gaylord Opryland Hotel. The Gaylord Opryland Hotel is the largest non-casino hotel in the continental United States outside of Las Vegas. It features nearly 3,000 rooms and has 15 restaurants. It’s the first time since at least 2000 that LSU and its bowl opponent have shared the same hotel.
LSU dined on the Showboat General Jackson on Saturday night for the Music City Welcome Party. The General Jackson is the largest non-gaming paddle boat in the world and makes daily tours up and down the Cumberland River just outside of Nashville.
The Tigers, weather permitting, will catch the first half of tomorrow’s NFL regular-season finale between the Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts at LP Field. Kickoff is scheduled for noon. At halftime, the Tigers will head to Vanderbilt’s indoor facility where they will have one final practice before Tuesday’s matchup with Notre Dame. LSU will have its usual day-before-the-game walk-through on Monday afternoon.
LSU sold its entire allotment of 8,500 tickets for the Music City Bowl.