Notre Dame will face LSU at the Music City Bowl in Nashville

Sunday afternoon the College Football Playoff Committee announced the top four teams that will make a run for this year's national title game. Number one Alabama will take on the number four Ohio State Buckeyes in the All-State Sugar Bowl, while second-seeded Oregon will face third-seeded Florida State in the Rose Bowl, both games on New Year's Day.

And although Notre Dame didn't make the cut this season, Head Coach Brian Kelly announced which bowl the Irish will compete in, in just a few weeks.

“I know our guys were really excited about the news and about the matchup that we'll have in the Music City Bowl,” Irish Head Coach Brian Kelly said Sunday night.
 
On December 30, the Fighting Irish will take on the 8-4 LSU Tigers in Nashville's Music City Bowl.

“I'm excited. LSU is a great team, they have always been a great team and it's going to be a great challenge for us and I think anytime you have an opportunity to go against a team that's talked about as the best college football conference, it's exciting and energizing for everybody,” Irish cornerback Matthias Farley said.
 
It's a bowl game that is energizing for a team that is coming off of a disappointing finish to a 7-5 season.

“I think this is really about improving our football team more than anything else and improving the play,” Kelly said.
 
It's a group that is in repair, still sifting through what Head Coach Brian Kelly is calling a competitive quarterback situation between Everett Golson and Malik Zaire.

“This was not a competitive situation during the year. Malik was the backup and I think I made that pretty clear. We're going to let them compete and we'll see where that puts us come game time,” Kelly said.
 
And come game time, the Irish say they hope to prove what potential they have had all along.

“It's going to be a great game and you want to compete against the best,” Irish offensive lineman and team captain Nick Martin said.
 
Kelly says his team will have a total of eight practices before they leave for Nashville on the 26th. Kick-off is set for 3 p.m. December 30 at LP Field.