Notre Dame Football: Are the Irish Headed for the Champs Sports Bowl?

When Notre Dame fell to Stanford 28-14 last Saturday night, the Irish watched their slim hopes of making it into the top 14 of the BCS standings and getting a BCS bowl invite completely vanish.

They are now simply just 8-4 and once again a top-25 afterthought.

That means that Brian Kelly and his team are likely headed down to Orlando, Florida for the Champs Sports Bowl on Dec. 29th.

The Champs Sports Bowl has tie-ins with the Big East and the ACC; but bowl officials do have the option of selecting the Irish once every four years, and it looks like they’ll use that this year.

Notre Dame will likely face off against Florida State out of the ACC.

There was a time when these two teams ruled college football and waged some of the biggest battles of the season. But both have since fallen on hard times, and they're now trying to each build themselves back up into the power programs they once were.

Neither of them was able to take a big step forward this season, though.

You could chop the Champs Sports tag off and just dub this one the “Disappointing Teams That Didn’t Meet Expectations Bowl.”

Or slim it down to the D.T.T.D.M.E Bowl.

Notre Dame and Florida State both had their sights set on getting to a BCS bowl game this season. But both teams had their fair of struggles along the way, and each finished off the year with a mediocre 8-4 record.

Now, the focus will be trying to build momentum for a 2012 season that is shaping up to be an important season for both teams.

Kelly certainly knows that it will be a make-or-break season for the Irish, and the head coach will be looking to cap off the year with a big win over another old nemesis—just like Notre Dame did against Miami in the Sun Bowl last year.

A 9-4 season wasn’t what some Notre Dame fans were hoping for. But hey, it sure beats the sound of another 8-5 campaign.