Notre Dame's quarterback Brady Quinn is a great one and he has had a super senior season completing 274 of 432 passes for 3,278 yards and 35 touchdowns. LSU's quarterback JaMarcus Russell has also had a great season completing 211 of 308 passes for 2,797 yards and 26 touchdowns. RATE THE QBs EVEN.
Notre Dame has a super running back in Darius Walker who has rushed for 1,182 yards on 233 carries and seven touchdowns. James Aldridge has rushed for 142 yards on 34 carries. Jacob Hester is LSU's leading rusher with 415 yards on 91 rushing attempted and six touchdowns. Keiland Williams has rushed for 344 yards on 62 carries and three touchdowns. Alley Broussard is LSU's third leading rusher with 303 yards on 74 carries. Reports are that Broussard is in his best playing condition of the season and that is good news for LSU and bad news for Notre Dame. ADVANTAGE LSU IN THE RB POSITION.
Notre Dame has a great receiver in 6'5" Jeff Samardzija who has caught 70 passes for 958 yards and 11 touchdowns. However, Many football fans believe that Notre Dame's Rhema McKnight who has 64 receptions for 885 yards and 15 touchdowns might be a better receiver than Samardzija. Darius Walker has 54 receptions for 360 yards, John Carlson has 46 receptions for 361 yards and David Grimes has 25 receptions for 315 yards. Dwayne Bowe leads LSU in receiving with 60 catches for 912 yards and 11 touchdowns. Craig Davis has caught 52 passes for 786 yards and four touchdowns, Early Doucet has 51 receptions for 659 yards, and Jacob Hester has 34 receptions for 257 yards. SLIGHT LSU ADVANTAGE IN WR POSITION.
Notre Dame's offensive line has given up a lot of sacks this season and few defensive linemen have the speed of Ricky Jean Francois and Glen Dorsey. ADVANTAGE LSU IN THE OL.
On defense, LSU's defensive line should have a sizeable advantage with Chase Pittman, Charles Alexandria , Glen Dorsey, Ricky Jean Francois and Tyson Jackson. However, Notre Dame has very good linebackers and is very deep. LSU is not very deep at the linebacker position but is very good when Ali Highsmith, Darry Beckwith and Luke Sanders are in good health. LINEBACKERS EVEN.
In the defensive backfield, All-American LaRon Landry is superior, and Jessie Daniels and Chevis Jackson should play very well. ADVANTAGE LSU IN DEFENSIVE BACKS.
As for Special Teams, Notre Dame has made eight of 12 field goals attempted, but only one of four from 40-49 yards. Notre Dame has punted 40 times for a remarkable 45.2 average per punt. David Grimes has returned 17 kicks for 434 yards and a 25.25 average. LSU’s field goal kicker, Colt David, has made seven of 11 field goals including three between 40-49 yards. Chris Jackson has punted 35 times for 1,462 yards and a 41.8 average. Early Doucet and Trindon Holiday have returned 14 kicks for 316 yards for an average of 22.5 yards. SLIGHT ADVANTAGE TO NOTRE DAME IN SPECIAL TEAM PLAY.
Notre Dame assistant pays visit to LSU fan's restaurant
NEW ORLEANS - One of the first things Notre Dame offensive coordinator Michael Haywood did when he arrived in town for the Sugar Bowl last week was hit Mike Serio's restaurant on St. Charles Avenue.
Serio is a diehard LSU fan whose place is filled with Tigers' memorabilia.
"Michael always comes by here," Serio said. "When he was at LSU, he'd always come by for Mardi Gras. It was great seeing him again."
Haywood coached at LSU from 1995 through 2002 under head coach Gerry DiNardo for the first five years and head coach Nick Saban for the last three. He then moved on to Texas, where he was an assistant under Mack Brown. Before the 2005 season, Haywood joined new Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis. After years of coaching running backs and special teams, he graduated to coordinator.
"Spending eight years at LSU was a great experience," Haywood said Sunday. "It was one of the places I enjoyed the most in my coaching career. When you enjoy the culture and the festivities they have there and the love and passion for the game that the fans have there, it's an outstanding place."
Haywood feels he has worked for three of the best coaches in the business.
"Coach Saban and coach Weis have a lot of similarities," Haywood said. "They both learned under Bill Belichick (of the New England Patriots). Coach Saban is probably the finest defensive coach I have been around, and Charlie Weis is probably the finest offensive coach I have been around. Mack Brown is probably the finest recruiter I have been around. So you have an opportunity to take something from each individual. I have been fortunate to do that."
Haywood credited Saban with closing the state's borders.
"One of the problems we had when I first got there was keeping the players from the state of Louisiana in the state and coming to LSU," he said. "I think coach Saban did a terrific job of that. I think the guys that are there today are doing a good job of that also."
PUPIL VS. TEACHER: LSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher will be matching wits with his former boss when LSU and Notre Dame meet in the Sugar Bowl on Wednesday night.
Fisher was the offensive coordinator at the University of Cincinnati in 1999 under head coach Rick Minter, who has been the Notre Dame defensive coordinator since 2005.
"We have been apart for so long that we have evolved in different ways," Fisher said. "It will be interesting to see how he has evolved and how I have evolved. But I know what kind of coach Rick is. He is one of those guys who steps in the office and goes 22 hours a day. He does it. He's a good tactician. Their players play hard. They mix schemes. They blitz. They play zone. They play man."
BETTER THAN USC? Notre Dame secondary coach Bill Lewis said he has not seen a better trio of wide receivers than Dwayne Bowe, Craig Davis and Early Doucet of LSU in his two years at Notre Dame, which has played USC the last two seasons.
"When you look at them as a group, they're probably as strong as any group we've seen in our two years that we've been together," Lewis said. "We hope that our secondary is up to it."
NEW ORLEANS - LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini enjoyed coaching his rare pair of first team All-Americans this season. Unfortunately, he may lose both of them.
Free safety LaRon Landry is a senior and, by rule, cannot play for LSU any longer after the Tigers play Notre Dame on Wednesday in the Sugar Bowl. Defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey is just a junior, but there is a strong chance he could enter the NFL Draft a year early.
"Coaching both of those guys has been a privilege," Pelini said Sunday. "I don't know if I've had two better players at the same time."
LSU has not had two first team Associated Press All-Americans on the same side of the ball since 1970 when linebacker Mike Anderson and safety Tommy Casanova received the same honor. Landry and Dorsey are LSU's first dual A.P. All-American first teamers since kicker Chad Kessler and offensive guard Alan Faneca in 1997.
Pelini said before this season that Landry was one of the best safeties he had ever seen, and Pelini coached nine years in the NFL.
"I think you're going to see LaRon play in Hawaii some day," Pelini said in reference to the annual NFL Pro Bowl. "I think he'll be an all-pro down the road if he stays on task and keeps focused, which I know he will because of the tremendous young man he is."
Landry could have been drafted in the first round last year, but he chose to stay for his senior year after suffering an ankle injury that would have hurt his private workouts with NFL officials and his performances at the NFL combine.
"There were some things I wanted to do my senior year, too," said Landry, who will play in the Senior Bowl later this month. "I wanted to get closer to graduating. I wanted to leave no doubt about it that I will go in the first round instead of worrying about late first round or early second round. And I think I've done that. Plus I wanted to play another year in this secondary. We've got so much chemistry."
Strong safety Jessie Daniels has played near Landry since 2003, and cornerback Chevis Jackson has been starting since 2004.
"We know what each other is thinking," Landry said. "It's been a lot of fun - all four years."
Pelini does not think he is alone in his assessment of Landry, who has been starting since his true freshman season of 2003 and is second in school history in pass break-ups with 36.
"If you talk to the scouts, I think they'll say the same thing," he said. "He's an all-pro. Because not only is he a great athlete, he's tough. He has high character. He's intelligent. He's the total package. I've been lucky to have worked with him."
Dorsey is just in his first year of starting regularly, but he also is being considered for the first round of the NFL draft.
"I have to keep tunnel vision and focus on the task at hand," Dorsey said. "I kind of venture off every once in a while and think about it (the NFL). But I'm so busy with LSU activities that I really don't have time to think about it. I guess that's a good problem to have."
Pelini said Dorsey has petitioned the NFL to learn where he might go in the draft, which is common for junior star players.
"Whether he comes back I don't know," Pelini said. "I think he has a tough choice ahead of him. He's a tremendous football player and he's had a great year. It just depends. He has to talk to a lot of people. He has to get a lot of advice and ultimately sit down with his family, the coaches, get outside opinions and make the choice he thinks is right for him and his family."
Dorsey made himself noticeable early this season as he made eight tackles with three for losses in the Tigers' 7-3 loss at Auburn on CBS on Sept. 16.
"Obviously, we'd love to have Glenn back another year, but I know Glenn and he's not concerned with that right now. He's concerned with one thing, and that's Notre Dame."
Landry and Dorsey are concerned with quarterback Brady Quinn of Notre Dame in particular. Quinn finished third in the Heisman Trophy race and won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award for the nation's best quarterback.
"He's the total package," Landry said. "He can make all the throws. He gets rid of the ball quick. We're going to really have to stick to our assignments and try to get a lot of pressure on him. That's where Glenn comes in."
Dorsey, who is often double teamed, has three quarterback sacks this season along with a quarterback hurry.
"You always look forward to playing against guys you know are great players to see how you measure yourself to them," Dorsey said. "You always look toward something to motivate you like that. Brady is a great quarterback, a good athlete and he's able to make big plays. But if we can get some pressure on him, I know we can do the job, and I know LaRon will have all our backs if we don't."The Shreveport Times
LSU / Notre Dame
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