Notre Dame will be spending the holidays in Nashville. Sunday afternoon the Irish accepted their first ever bid to the Music City Bowl, where they’ll take on LSU. Les Miles’ football team finished the season 8-4.
The Irish had access to the bowl in their first year affiliated with the ACC, taking one of the Tier I spots as part of the school’s scheduling agreement.
“We’re thrilled with the opportunity to face LSU -- one of the preeminent programs in all of college football,” said Kelly. “When we worked with the ACC to fashion our agreement, part of the attraction for Notre Dame was the ability to provide our program with this type of matchup. In that vein we’re excited to come to Nashville, to play in a bowl in which the University never before has participated and to play in a top-notch NFL venue.”
The Tigers lost four conference games this season, falling in September to Orange Bowl participant Mississippi State. They were blown out 41-7 by Auburn.
LSU lost back-to-back games in November, falling in overtime to Alabama before being shutout by Arkansas 17-0. The Tigers rebounded with a victory over Texas A&M to close out the regular season with an eighth victory. Their eight wins also included a 10-7 victory over then No. 3 Ole Miss.
“We are very excited to bring our football program and the great LSU fan base to Nashville to play Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl,” LSU coach said in a statement. “Notre Dame is a traditional football power and we are looking forward to renewing what has been a tremendous rivalry between the two programs through the years.”
More to come after Brian Kelly’s press conference.