RB Cierre Wood versus Miami last year in the Sun Bowl |
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have made 30 Bowl appearances in it’s 123 years of footballing history, winning 15 and losing 15.
It has played in the Rose Bowl (1 win), the Cotton Bowl Classic (5 wins, 2 losses), the Orange Bowl (2 wins, 3 losses), the Sugar Bowl (2 wins, 2 losses), the Gator Bowl (1 win, 2 losses), the Liberty Bowl (1 win), the Aloha Bowl (1 loss), the Fiesta Bowl (1 win, 3 losses), the Independence Bowl (1 loss),the Insight Bowl (1 loss), Hawaii Bowl (1 win) and the Sun Bowl (1 win).
From 1994 to the 2006 football seasons, Notre Dame lost 9 consecutive bowl games and setting an NCAA record for consecutive bowl losses. That streak ended with a 49–21 blowout of Hawaii in the 2008 Hawaii Bowl.
So, can Brian Kelly’s team make a BCS Bowl run this late in the season. The answer is yes.....the chances......extremely unlikely.
For at-large selection Notre Dame must finish in the BCS top 14. Despite returning to the AP (24) and Coaches (25) polls this weekend, the Irish didn't make the BCS Top 25. That means Notre Dame would have to surpass at least a dozen teams to play its way into BCS eligibility.
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So while yes....the Irish are not out of a BCS Bowl bid, the chances of if happening are about as likely as snow on the island of Hawaii in July.
Lets take a look then at what is more likely.......
If Notre Dame loses its last two games of the season, the New Era Pinstripe Bowl in the Bronx will be its most likely destination.
The game is held in New York City's new Yankee Stadium where the Irish played Army last year. A trip to the New Era Pinstripe Bowl would only happen if the Big 12 could not supply a seventh eligible team, or if the Irish were to be selected in lieu of a Big East team.
If the seventh-placed bowl-eligible Big 12 team is selected to another bowl, then the Irish could take the Big 12's spot as well. The Irish could either face the seventh eligible team in the Big 12, or they could face the fourth eligible team in the Big East.
Supposing the Irish beat Boston College but lose away to a great Stanford team, Notre Dame has been picked to attend the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Florida by nearly every recent projection.
The game features the third bowl-eligible team from the ACC against the second eligible team from the Big East (or Notre Dame once in a four-year period).While most projections have Florida State facing the Irish, anything can happen in the last few weeks of the season.Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Clemson and even a surprise like Virginia are all possible matchups for the Irish, as a number of interesting conference games are going to round out the season.
Even if Notre Dame wins ALL of its remaining games, the Champs Sports Bowl is still the most likely destination for the Fighting Irish.
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