Perspective Piece: Sugar Bowl

The last time Notre Dame played in the Sugar Bowl, the Fighting Irish weren't supposed to have much of a chance. But after sixty minutes, college football's most storied team stood on the winning side of the ledger. This is what the LSU Tigers will try to remember when they play host to the boys from South Bend.

As the Sugar Bowl returns to New Orleans and the Superdome after a one-year stay in Atlanta, the game will offer a home-field flavor for the third time in the past six years. After spending New Year's in the French Quarter in both 2002 and 2004, the Bayou Bengals of LSU will come back to the big dome on the third day of 2007. It will give Les Miles' team a considerable advantage against Charlie Weis' charges... not that the home folks need it.

If this game could be staged on a truly neutral field--think of the Orange or Rose bowls (Notre Dame would probably have a crowd advantage at the Fiesta Bowl in suburban Phoenix, which some folks view as a suburb of ND-friendly Chicago)--LSU would rate as a prohibitive favorite. The Tigers possess even more talent and speed than the Michigan and USC ballclubs that authoritatively drubbed the Irish in 2006. LSU's receivers easily outclass a Notre Dame secondary that got torched by the likes of Mario Manningham and Dwayne Jarrett this past season.

LSU has every possible advantage in this game: a big home crowd, a wave of positive momentum, and generally better athletes. So what could possibly go wrong? Ask Steve Spurrier, and go back to a time when the Head Ball Coach was a younger, less established, and decidedly more volatile figure as an emotional, flesh-and-blood being.

It was New Year's night in 1992. The Florida Gators, after a long walk in the football wilderness, played in the Sugar Bowl as the reigning (and officially recognized) SEC champions. The No. 3 team in the country stepped into the Superdome as a big favorite against a Notre Dame outfit that suffered its share of bumps, bruises and losses over the course of the 1991 season. Every factor seemed to cut in Florida's favor. Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz had to endure the jokes about his team's legitimacy entering this game. Cheerios belonged in a bowl with sugar more than his Irish did.

But after sixty minutes, a boatload of missed opportunities by the Gators, and inspired running by a young man named Jerome Bettis, the Irish left Spurrier's erratic ballclub beaten and bloodied. Holtz basked in the glow of one of his bigger bowl wins, while the shellshocked Gators would need a few years before they'd feel a little more comfortable in the Superdome. In 1997, they'd win their only national title in that building.

LSU and Miles could learn a lot from Florida's 1992 experience against the Irish. Miles, in particular, is at a very early stage in his career as the Boss Bengal. No one knows--not even Miles himself--how well his stay in Baton Rouge will turn out. Spurrier, in his very early Florida years, was evidently gifted, but still something of a mercurial personality that few could figure out. It took a few seasons--and some sobering losses mixed in with some hard-earned wins--for Spurrier to attain maximum mojo as he led the Gators to the top of the SEC. It's still too early to say this in a definitive way, but Miles could possibly stand at the same kind of crossroads. He could continue to preside over prodigiously talented teams that, with slightly tweaked coaching methods here and there, could translate into a Tiger dynasty even greater than what Nick Saban began to build a few years ago. On the other hand, some unsteady performances in big games could stop the forward-moving progression of Miles' career.

The LSU coach and his program are in a very good position right now, but also a volatile one. Every Tiger player--especially quarterback JaMarcus Russell--is extremely gifted, but the LSU legacy under Les Miles has been characterized by turnovers just as much as it's been marked by impressive displays of talent. The last thing the Bayou Bengals can afford to do against Notre Dame is to mentally relax, especially in terms of ball security. If they don't pay attention to the little things, the Tigers will feel the same hurt that befell a foiled Florida fraternity 15 years ago. Notre Dame might have an inadequate defense, but a gifted offense piloted by stellar quarterback Brady Quinn--and given quality play calls by Charlie Weis--could definitely undress an overhyped and generally overrated LSU secondary.

LSU has the material advantages in this game, but Notre Dame has a way of pulling off Sugar Bowl upsets in the face of daunting odds. That's the backdrop for a matchup that could become a lot more competitive than a lot of experts think it will be.