Notre Dame Football: Addressing the Bowl Tie-in Dilemma

While Notre Dame began the 2011 season with BCS bowl aspirations, its postseason fate was all but sealed after an October loss to USC that dropped the Irish to 4-3. With the Champs Sports Bowl having the option to select Notre Dame in lieu of the Big East runner-up, Brian Kelly’s team was destined for Orlando.

Although playing on Dec. 29 was not the goal, a matchup with fellow traditional power Florida State provided for a game with a high level of anticipation. It also gave the team an opportunity to make amends for some missed opportunities during the season and gain momentum for 2012, much as what happened a year earlier after defeating Miami in the Sun Bowl.

As we enter the third year of four-year bowl arrangements that run from 2010-2013, Notre Dame finds itself in a bit of a quandary with regards to potential postseason destinations. A BCS berth is again a goal, but eight or nine wins appear more realistic, which would leave the Irish on the outside looking in.

The Champs Sports Bowl was only permitted to select Notre Dame once from 2010-2013, so there will be no return trip to Orlando. To simplify the situation, the Irish are a free agent. Fellow independents Army (Military), BYU (Poinsettia) and Navy (Kraft Fight Hunger) have predetermined tie-ins should they reach bowl eligibility. Notre Dame has no such agreement.

The Irish may find themselves having to wait on their Independent brethren to see if all three teams can reach six wins and fill their bowl slots, but two other factors will benefit the Irish: realignment and probation.

Bowl tie-ins for 2010-2013 were made prior to the conference expansion craze that began when the Big Ten and Pac-10 expanded to 12 teams in the summer of 2010. The Big 12 now has eight tie-ins for only 10 teams, instead of the 12 that they had when tie-ins were established. While they were able to fill all eight of their slots, they did not have a second team reach a BCS bowl, and both Iowa State and now-departed Texas A&M barely squeaked into the postseason with 6-6 records.

With the Big 12 seemingly the second-best conference in the country going into 2012, it’s hard to imagine the conference not getting two BCS bowl berths. Should that occur, nine of 10 teams must be bowl eligible to fill all of the conference’s tie-ins. More than likely, the TicketCity Bowl in Dallas and/or the Pinstripe Bowl in New York will be searching for a team to fill a void left by the Big 12.

Two weeks ago, North Carolina received its penalties from the NCAA for a rampant cheating scandal that was first uncovered in 2010. As part of their punishment, the Tar Heels will be ineligible for a bowl game in 2012. Like the Big 12, the ACC has eight bowl tie-ins. Without North Carolina, it's already down to 11 teams that can make a bowl. The league’s Military Bowl tie-in, currently for the No. 8 selection from the ACC, may be unable to be filled.

Certainly, a BCS berth isn’t out of the realm of the possibility. The 2005 team faced a similarly difficult schedule to the 2012 team, which included games with preseason No. 1 USC, No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 Tennessee. That team ended up in the Fiesta Bowl.

If the Irish can’t reach the likely magic number of 10 wins, they will have some options. Dallas, New York, and Washington D.C. appear to be the most likely destinations. Having played in both New York and Washington, D.C. in recent years, Dallas might make the most sense should the Irish have the luxury of a decision.

Notre Dame would love to become more a factor in the recruiting hotbed of Texas, as evident by scheduling its off-site home game in 2013 against Arizona State at Cowboys Stadium. The TicketCity Bowl is held in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day.

While the old stadium now shows its age, it’s been the site of some of Notre Dame’s most memorable wins, including an upset of No. 1 Texas in 1978 that helped the Irish win the 1977 national title, and the famous “Chicken Soup” game a year later in which Joe Montana led a furious comeback to stun Houston on a bitter cold day.

The opponent would be a Big Ten team, which could present an intriguing matchup against potential opponents like Iowa, Northwestern or Penn State. For a team that could be looking for a home in early December, Dallas wouldn’t be a bad place to land for the Irish.