Notre Dame will be the heavy underdog when it goes up against LSU in the Music City Bowl Tuesday afternoon in Nashville, Tenn.

ND, which took a real nosedive in the final four games of the regular season, will have one of their key defensive players Sheldon Day back for the game but will still be missing about seven players that started or played a lot during the first five games of the season.With the collapse came questions about head coach Brian Kelly and his staff, whether they would ever win one of those "big games" a team has during the season. Sometimes there is more than one big game in a season. Kelly has lost all of them.The Irish were on the brink of beating Florida State before the officials took it away from them. From that point on the Irish went into a free-fall that had them lose the final four and finish 7-5, one more loss than I predicted.As the Irish prepare for the Tigers, Kelly announced that both senior Everett Golson and sophomore Malik Zaire will be playing tag-team at quarterback.Golson was pulled in the USC game, and rightfully so, with another turnover and poor performance. Zaire came in and did a creditable job for a player who had limited playing time, having thrown only a few passes to that point.Kelly said, "I want to play them both, because I think both of them have some different traits." He added, "We need to find a way to win the game, and I think both of them can help us win."Golson and Zaire will face a LSU team that is No. 1 against the pass and No. 8 in overall defense. ND is 16th nationally in passing offense, are the most prolific aerial attack LSU will see this season but also have turnover issues. Golson himself has turned the ball over 22 times this season.Kelly has experience in using two QBs in a game. He has done it in the past at other schools he has coached. He says he'd rather have one QB to worry about but the circumstances dictate two this time.Golson has responded positively to his semi-demotion, Kelly said, with a drive to be competitive and get better.LSU enters the game at 8-4 with wins over Wisconsin, 28-24; Sam Houston State, 56-0; UL-Monroe, 31-0; New Mexico State, 63-7; Florida, 30-27; Kentucky, 41-3; Ole Miss, 10-7; and Texas A&M, 23-17. The four losses have been to Mississippi State, 34-29; Auburn, 41-7; Alabama, 20-13 (OT); and Arkansas, 17-0.Ranked 27th in the nation, the Tigers average 219.5 rushing yards per game and 163.9 passing. QB Anthony Jennings has completed 104 of 213 passes with seven interceptions and 10 touchdowns. Leonard Foursnette leads the rushing attack with 905 yards on 176 carries and eight TDs, followed by Kenny Hilliard, 434-27 and six scores; and Terrence Magee 557-105 and three scores. Top receivers are Travin Dural, 758 yards on 37 catches and seven TDs and Trey Quinn, 193-17.The series between the two schools is tied at 5-5 with LSU winning the last game in 2006, 41-14. The game will be televised by ESPN with a 3:10 p.m. kickoff.IRISH NOTES: Senior safety Eilar Hardy has been cleared to play in the game. Hardy's availability gives ND three semi-healthy scholarship safeties for the bowl game, along with junior Elijah Shumate and sophomore Max Redfield ..... Kelly also said he may move 6-4, 290-pound sophomore defensive end Isaac Rochell inside to help shore up the depleted interior defensive line. Sophomore Mike McGlinchey will see a lot of playing time at right guard on offense, as starter Christian Lombard is battling a back injury ... Irish last practice in South Bend was last Monday. They returned to practice the day after Christmas in Nashville ... Early predictions for 2015 has the Irish starting the season ranked 16th. Only two 2015 Irish opponents made the top 25 - USC at No. 10 and Georgia Tech at No. 11 ... Here are some stats that show how the Irish free-fall in November (1-4) was keyed by the many injuries on defense. During the span the Irish gave up a total of 1,945 yards to opponents and 178 points. ND also had 19 different starters on defense during the span ... ND and LSU enter the Music City Bowl with a combined 15-9 record. The Tigers are a relatively young team. ND, with the many injuries on the defensive side, is also relatively young. In fact, many point that in 2015 the Irish will have most of their key players back, including the missing pieces from this year's team back such as Jarron Jones, Ishaq Williams, team MVP Joe Schmidt, and KeiVarae Russell. Offensively the Irish also return key players so there is light at the end of the tunnel. But for now ND faces a challenge in this bowl game because most of those defensive players out due to injuries are still out, with the notable exception of Day. So defensively, the problem is the same it was at the beginning of the November fall. Offensively, the Irish are healthier but still have the turnover problem. Golson will be sharing time with Zaire, but will he be able to avoid the turnovers. And for Zaire, he is still very untested. The offensive line was also a problem during the November run. Will it step up today to give the Irish a runnning game it needs so badly?.... ND is a seven and a half point underdog in the game. I think the bookies who determine the spread are being kind to the Irish. They probably should be at last 15 point underdogs. I figure the reason for the lower point spread is because the Tigers are a young team, but they don't have the problems ND is facing today. My prediction is a LSU win, by a very comfortable margin. This is my last column until the 2015 kickoff on Sept. 5 at home with Texas. Thanks for reading and hope 2015 is a wonderful year for all. Go Irish!