In two seasons under Charlie Weis, Notre Dame is 19–5 and has qualified for the Bowl Championship Series twice. Yet the high point for the Irish during that time came in a loss — their epic near upset of USC last season.

Weis has faced three other elite teams during his time in South Bend (Michigan and USC this season, and Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl after last year) and has gone 0–3. Worse, the average margin of defeat in those three games was 20 points. So it’s no surprise that the Irish are heavy underdogs against LSU, which many observers feel may be the most talented team in the country.

All that talent couldn’t prevent LSU from losing two games, however. It could be argued that the Tigers were done in by an SEC schedule that saw them make road trips to Auburn, Florida, Arkansas, and Tennessee in the same season. No other nationally ranked team faced such a road gauntlet, and the Tigers should be commended for managing a 2–2 mark on those trips.

LSU certainly finished the season hot, closing with a six-game winning streak during which they averaged 33 points per game and beat a pair of teams ranked in the top 10 at the time (no. 8 Tennessee and no. 5 Arkansas), both on the road.

The Tigers rode quarterback JaMarcus Russell down the stretch, as he threw 15 touchdown passes during the winning streak, and at least two in each game. Russell spreads the ball around to a trio of talented receivers. Dwayne Bowe, Craig Davis, and Early Doucet each had at least 50 receptions and 650 yards, and they accounted for 23 touchdown receptions.

Therein lies the problem for Notre Dame. The running theme in each of the Irish’s recent losses against top competition was an inability to stop the passing game. Ohio State, Michigan, and USC all picked on the slow Notre Dame corners, and the prospects don’t look much better for success against Russell and his receivers.

One factor that could give Notre Dame hope is the LSU running game, which is nothing spectacular. That should allow the Irish to keep their safeties back in pass coverage rather than up to stop the run. But the defensive line must get to Russell for it to make a difference, because even with the safeties back, nobody in the Notre Dame secondary can run with LSU’s receivers if Russell has plenty of time to throw.

Offensively, Notre Dame has as much talent as any team in the country. Quarterback Brady Quinn, who could next be seen trying on an Oakland Raiders jersey as the no. 1 overall pick in the next NFL draft, has had a terrific season statistically and finished third in the Heisman Trophy balloting. But Quinn, like his team, is still looking for a signature performance in a big game this year. Against both Michigan and Notre Dame, he started very slowly as the Irish fell far behind.

Quinn’s struggles in those two games were the direct result of a leaky offensive line that left him running for his life behind center. The more hits he absorbed, the worse his mechanics became as he began to look at the pass rush instead of trying to find receivers opening up downfield.

Things will get no easier against an LSU defense that ranked second nationally in total defense, and third against the pass. Notre Dame’s offensive line must do a better job protecting Quinn, and Weis would be wise to keep his backs in to help out in pass protection. The limited Notre Dame ground attack (78th in the nation) is unlikely to find much success against the LSU front seven, so the Irish’s best chance may be to forget about establishing the run and instead let its best player (Quinn) try to win the game by outscoring the Tigers.

Notre Dame will have to play mistake-free on offense to have a chance, which means avoiding drops as well as turnovers. Receiver Rhema McKnight is the Irish’s best downfield threat, but he also has suspect hands, something that can’t be said of his counterpart Jeff Samardzija. “The Shark” is a tall, rangy receiver with a knack for catching everything that comes within a body length of him.

LSU has a larger margin for error because of its superior talent, but this is a team that appears to suffer from collective brain cramps at times. After more than a month of talk about how likely they are to blow out Notre Dame, overconfidence could be an issue.

Notre Dame may be lacking secondary speed, but they’re hardly bereft of talent. Weis badly wants to win this game to silence the critics who question his team’s lack of success against marquee opponents. Already rumored to be one of the highest-paid coaches in college football, Weis knows that the time to win one of these games is now. He has improved the overall talent level at Notre Dame since taking over for Tyrone Willingham, but with Quinn graduating, next year’s team could have trouble matching the results of this one.

For both LSU and the Sugar Bowl itself, this game is a homecoming. LSU has fond memories of its last trip to this bowl — when it won the BCS national title following the 2003 season — while the game itself is returning to New Orleans following a one-year absence because of Hurricane Katrina.

Mr. Levine is a writer for FootballOutsiders.com.