Notre Dame Football: Projecting Irish's Bowl Game after Win vs. Boston College

Notre Dame knocked down Boston College 16-14, taking them to an overall 8-3 record and No. 1 ranking in the IA Independent standings, which will more than likely stand. The "Notre Dame rule" is only in effect if Notre Dame finishes in the top eight.

Last year, they finished with a 7-5 record, went to the Sun Bowl and defeated Miami (FL) 33-17.

In 2009, they finished 6-6 and were not placed in a bowl at all.

The good news for Fighting Irish fans is that they are going to a bowl, though it will not be a top-five bowl this time around.

The way the selection process is worded, Notre Dame will be selected "at-large" if it finishes in the top eight and "can be" selected if it finishes in the top 14.

As neither of these are likely (if not, impossible) at this point, they will enter their third and final state of selection: Notre Dame can be selected to play in a bowl game in place of a Big East team's normally-designated berth, since their other sports are affiliated with that conference.

With the same win-loss record as Rutgers (No. 2 in the Big East), I am predicting a Champs Sports Bowl appearance for the Irish in lieu of the Rutgers team, as Notre Dame would likely sell more tickets and attract more viewers.

There you have it, folks, if the season plays out as expected, you should see the Fighting Irish playing against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the Champs Sports Bowl, unless Virginia has something to say about it in the coming weeks.

*information from wikipedia.org was used for non-BCS bowl berths