Notre Dame offensive line to provide big test for LSU in Citrus Bowl

When discussing the best players in football, it’s generally a subjective conversation. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But when an award is presented designating the best at something, most times the recipient is justified.

The LSU Tigers will be facing the very best offensive line in all of college football in the Citrus Bowl. The Fightin’ Irish were third in the FBS rushing for 6.37 yards per carry and seventh nationally running for an average of 272 yards per contest.

Notre Dame scored 35 times on the ground throughout the season with 3,349 total rushing yards as a team. Irish quarterbacks were sacked 26 times, but more on that later.

The offensive line was presented with the Joe Moore Award recognizing the best front five in college football. The trophy, built to appropriately recognize the honor, is six feet wide and seven feet tall. Alabama and Auburn were the other finalists.

The Notre Dame line is anchored by a pair of projected 2018 top 15 picks in the NFL draft.

Left tackle Mike McGlinchey, a 6-foot-8, 310 pound mauler who is a two-time team captain for the Fightin’ Irish, has made 38 starts. He is the second ranked offensive tackle in the upcoming NFL draft by PFF. He has surrendered only three sacks in 825 snaps.

Alongside him is 6-foot-5, 330 pound left guard Quenton Nelson, the unanimous All American out of Holmdel, New Jersey who has 35 starts for his career. He has not surrendered a QB hit in 819 snaps. During his career (2,336 snaps), Nelson has given up just 2 sacks. He is the highest rated run blocking guard by PFF.

The center position is manned by Alex Mostipher (6-2 1/2, 305), the senior from Olney, Maryland with 24 career starts. He crafted his skill by watching his predecessor Nick Martin now with the Texans.

Right guard Alex Bars (6-7, 312), senior from Nashville, would be more highly recognized if it were not having to share the offensive line with the more publicized McGlinchey and Nelson. He possesses terrific athleticism and versatility. His dad played linebacker at Notre Dame (1981-’84) for Gerry Faust. Bars has 14 starts to his credit. When deciding on a college, LSU was among his final five choices.

Right tackle Tommy Kraemer (6-6, 314), a sophomore, has split time with Robert Hainsey, the first choice off the bench. Kraemer hails from Cincinnati, Ohio where he was the state’s 2015 Gatorade Player of the Year. He was the first offensive lineman to win the award after amassing 156 pancake blocks during his senior campaign. Notre Dame issued Kraemer jersey No. 78 in order to follow in the footsteps of current NFL starter and former Irish standout Ronnie Stanley.

The signal caller for the Irish is 6-foot-2, 228 pound junior Brandon Wimbush. He has a tendency of holding the ball a little long, which explains some of the sacks allowed. He has completed 49.8 percent of his attempts for 1,818 yards, 16 touchdowns and six interceptions. Winbush, the team’s second leading rusher, managed 765 yards (5.6 yard average) and 14 touchdowns on the ground. Running back Josh Adams is the team’s leading runner with 1,386 yards (7.3 per carry) and nine scores.

One of college football’s “all name” players is wideout Equanimous St. Brown (6’5-203) who has tallied 31 catches for 468 yards and four touchdowns. He is very fluent in three languages – German, French and English. His dad was a bodybuilder who was two-time Mr. Universe and three-time Mr. World.

Brown went through concussion protocol in November but there’s no reason to think he’ll be hindered in the bowl game.

The matchup between the Tigers and the Irish will be an intriguing one. LSU has 35 sacks while allowing 18.8 points per game. The Tigers boast the nation’s 12th best defense.

Notre Dame counters with the 29th rated offense in the land producing 455 yards per game and 35 points per outing. Not surprisingly, 279 yards per game come on the ground.

This will represent LSU’s toughest test as a front seven defensively while several veteran starters may be missing due to injury. We’ll find out just how good the Tigers’ defense is.